Only 11% of 69 crore beneficiaries have taken Covid precaution doses

New Delhi: Only 11 per cent of the nearly 69 crore eligible beneficiaries aged 18 years and above taking the precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine till July 25, has become a cause of concern for the Centre, with officials attributing the slow uptake of the third shot to complacency and waning of coronavirus fear. The precaution dose coverage among the 64,89,99,721 eligible population was 8 per cent till July 14.

India had on April 10 began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 years.

On July 15, the Union government launched a special 75-day drive to administer precaution doses to all aged 18 years and above at government vaccination centres free of cost.

The drive 'COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava', aimed at boosting the uptake of Covid precaution doses among eligible population, is being held as part of the government's Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence. Official sources further said 29 per cent of the 10.43 crore eligible individuals aged 60 years and above have been administered precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine till July 25. According to sources, around 4 crore people have not yet taken the first dose, while about 7 crore are due for their second dose. Of 68,97,62,152 people eligible for precaution dose, only 7,30,96,284 have taken it so far. In a few days, the number of eligible people will increase to 93 crore.