38 per cent of those eligible in Maharashtra have taken Covid-19 booster dose

Healthcare workers being given the precautionary dose, at Nair hospital on January 15. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Since the launch of the precautionary dose in the country on January 10, about 38 per cent of the beneficiaries in Maharashtra have taken the booster jab in the first week, with experts calling the response a bit sluggish. As per CoWIN data, until 3 pm on Monday, 3,40,355 individuals were administered the booster shot, of which 84,363 are from Mumbai and 32,629 are from Thane.

As per government data, 9 lakh senior citizens, healthcare and frontline workers are eligible for precautionary doses in the state. Officials said the number of beneficiaries taking the precautionary doses could have been more as most of the senior citizens have contracted Covid in the third wave while many healthcare and frontline workers have unofficially taken the third dose.

A beneficiary gets a vaccine dose at Nair hospital on January 15. Pic/Ashish Raje

Sion resident Shrijit Chatterjee, 68, was looking forward to the precautionary dose. "My wife and I were all set to take the precautionary dose on January 11 when I got fever and cough and tested positive," he said. Chatterjee and his wife will now get to take their precautionary dose after three months. Not just senior citizens, a large number of healthcare workers have also tested positive in the last month.

Joy Chakraborty, COO of PD Hinduja Hospital, said the turnout for the precautionary doses has been less than the expectation. "We are expecting the numbers to go up in the next two weeks. Some are in quarantine. Some have turned positive and now they have to wait for 84 days to take the dose," he said.

A state Covid Task Force member said there is a need to reduce the eligibility condition for the booster dose in case a person has tested positive. "We need to allow them to take the booster dose after 30 days. The number of days for taking booster doses needs to be reviewed," he said.

3.4L
No. of people who got booster shots till Monday 3 pm

9L
No. of people eligible for booster dose in state