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.