Sonu Sood gets COVID-19 vaccine and launches initiative

Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has announced his latest philanthropic initiative while also revealing that he has received the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Got my vaccine today and now it’s time to get whole of my country vaccinated. Started the biggest vaccination drive “Sanjeevani” which will bring awareness and get our people vaccinated,” Sood, 47, tweeted on April 7.

The ‘Kung Fu Yoga’ actor has actively been involved in social and philanthropic movements to help Indians who have been affected by the pandemic in the past year. When India went into lockdown, he helped stranded migrant workers get back to their home states by organising trains and buses. He also launched a job portal called ‘Pravasi Rojgar’ to help migrant workers find employment.

In February, Sood offered support to the family of a man who died in the Uttarakhand glacier burst, 45-year-old electrician Alam Singh Pundir. His team reached out to the family, which includes his wife and four daughters, and pledged to support them and ensure the children are given an education.

While talking to Gulf News last year, the actor explained why he was going out of his way to help others.

“When I saw the visuals of the exhausted migrants on the highways with their little children in tow trying to walk more than 1,000km to reach home, something in me snapped. I just wanted to help them in any way I could,” Sood said. “I have always believed that I need to be the change that I want to see.”

Sood is the latest Indian celebrities to get the COVID-19 vaccine, amid a massive spike in cases in Mumbai. Other stars who’ve received the jab include Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Hema Malini, Mohanlal, Jeetendra, Kamal Haasan, Nagarjuna, Rohit Shetty, Neena Gupta, Rakesh Roshan, Malaika Arora and Johnny Lever.

The Indian government recently announced that people above 45 years of age would be eligible to get the vaccine from April 1 onwards.