Santiago, Apr 28 (IANS): A total of 6,328,743 Chilean people have received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine as part of the country's mass vaccination campaign, the Health Ministry said.

The figure represents 41.6 per cent of the target population of about 15 million that has been fully vaccinated, Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris said in a statement on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 52.6 per cent of the target population, or 7,995,746 people, have received the first dose only, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"While the vaccination process continues to develop normally, citizens must maintain self-care measures, because for now they are the most effective in preventing new infections," said Paris.

Chile launched its mass vaccination plan in February, after inoculating healthcare workers in December 2020 and January 2021.

To date, more than 14.3 million vaccine doses have been administered in the South American nation.

The government believes that the inoculation of 15,200,840 people, or 80 per cent of the total population, will achieve the herd immunity needed to stamp out the virus.