Was called a Covidiot: Rahul dev on flak for a pic without mask
The actor hopes doctors are paid well for their services during the pandemic
The Covid-19 vaccination drive is in full swing in the country and many celebrities have been posting pictures and videos of them taking the jab. Actor Rahul Dev took the first dose of vaccine in March, in Delhi, and recently got his second jab, too.
Talking about his experience, he says, “When I got the first shot, the doctors had requested me to take my mask off for a picture. It was a quick and emotional decision without rationality. I just thought that they’re vaccinating me, and should I have said, ‘No, I’ll not take off my mask’? I got a lot of flak on social media for it. Some even called me a covidiot.” The 52-yearold says his heart goes out to the doctors in these testing times. “The last few weeks, all we’re seeing is that so many doctors have broken down. I’ve seen confessional videos of doctors saying, ‘We don’t have oxygen and patients ko jhooth bolke thak gaye hai’,” Dev shares.
The actor hopes that the medical personnel are being compensated well, given the services that they’ve been providing since the outbreak. “The pay scale of doctors is something that I want to talk about. I hope they can get paid much better. The hospitals aren’t running into losses, they’re making money, aren’t they? I’d like to see the staff getting more money, especially when their organisation is doing better,” he stresses.
Amid all this, Dev is also trying to do his bit and regularly help as many people as possible. But he admits that despite being a celebrity, sometimes he, too, feels helpless. “I keep getting messages. Every 10 minutes, I get a call for help or a message on social media. Sometimes you can help, sometimes you cannot. If you cannot help, then that’s not okay, but what can you do? I recently requested a bed in Delhi for someone and was told, ‘Room toh nahin chahiye na’. People are saying that celebs are getting special treatment, but it’s not like that. Even we’re struggling to get hospital beds for people in need,” he laments.