Philippines cuts target for ambitious three-day vaccination sprint

FILE PHOTO: Health workers in hazmat suits walk outside the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital in Manila, Philippines, September 7, 2021. REUTERS/Lisa Marie David

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has slashed its inoculation target for an ambitious three-day national vaccination push due to a shortage of supplies and other logistical challenges, authorities said on Saturday.

The Southeast Asian nation is facing the region's second-highest COVID-19 infections and deaths, and officials tagged vaccination as key to a sustainable economic recovery in what was one of the region's fastest growing economies before the pandemic.