Malacañang on Monday said the government was aiming to vaccinate 50 percent of the Metro Manila by Aug. 20.

In a virtual presser, Palace spokesman Harry Roque said the government had intensified its vaccination efforts since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila was reimposed on Aug. 6.

Roque said the government’s target was to vaccinate 250,000 per day, but it was only reaching 230,000 daily.

“That is not bad at all. At basta patuloy lang po tayo eh makakamit po natin iyon pong ating ninanais na maubos iyong four million na ibibigay sa Metro Manila bago po magtapos ang ating ECQ,” he said.

“So we are on our way to vaccinating at least 50 percent of our population here in Metro Manila,” he added.

The Philippines has vaccinated more than 12 million individuals. It aims to vaccinate more than 70 million Filipinos by yearend to achieve herd immunity.

The country has recorded 1,755,846 Covid-19 cases as of Aug. 16. John Ezekiel J. Hirro