New Delhi, September 23: Only 19 per cent of those aged between 18 to 59 have taken the precautionary doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Delhi, according to official data. As of now, the overall percentage of precautionary dose vaccination stands at 24 per cent.

In the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting held on Thursday, there was a consensus that this percentage needs to be brought up to at least 40-50 per cent. Out of a total of 1.33 crore beneficiaries eligible for the precaution doses, only 31.49 lakh (24 per cent) had taken them till September 20.

According to official data, as of September 20, a total of 1.14 crore beneficiaries were due for precaution doses in the age group of 18 to 59 with only 21.21 lakh taking it. In the age cohort of those aged above 60, 13.20 lakh beneficiaries are eligible, with nearly half of them -- 6.33 lakh or 48 per cent -- taken the precautionary dose. India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Exceeds 217.26 Crore.

Among the healthcare and frontline workers, 61 per cent of the eligible beneficiaries have taken the precaution dose, according to official data.

The Delhi government has been offering precaution doses for free at its vaccination centres.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had on Thursday urged people to take the booster dose of COVID vaccine asking them to follow all protocols and keep their family safe during coming festive season. Last month, amid a spike in coronavirus cases in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had claimed that people who have taken precaution dose of vaccines are safer from infection than others.

"Ninety per cent of corona-infected patients admitted to the hospital are those patients who have taken only two doses of the vaccine. "At the same time, only 10 per cent of the patients got corona infected after the third dose of the vaccine. It is clear from this that people who apply precautionary doses are safer from corona infection," he had asserted. On April 10 this year, India began administering precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines to all aged above 18 years.