How many of you fellow Cabinet mins relying on AYUSH for virus treatment: IMA asks Health Minister
New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Thursday came down heavily on the Union Health Ministry for continuing to promote AYUSH medication and interventions for dealing with COVID-19 patients and asked Health Minister Harsh Vardhan how many of his colleagues in the Cabinet had relied on AYUSH guidelines to deal with their infections.
The IMA went on to ask why COVID care and control was not with the AYUSH Ministry if the Centre really believed in this alternate form of medicine.
In a statement the IMA's president Rajan Sharma and general secretary R.V. Asokan asked the minister five questions seeking his reply on the same.
"Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has released a document prescribing protocol of prevention of Covid 19 infection and treatment of asymptomatic as well as mild cases of Covid 19 based on AYUSH and yoga. He has arraigned impressive names of institutions to support his prescription. He admits that these are based on empirical evidence which means that the evidence is anecdotal and based on individual subjective experiences. He himself relegates AYUSH as history rather than current by saying Ayurveda has contributed to foundation of modern medicine," they said in a press statement
They also questioned the ministry on whether there a satisfactory evidence regarding the claims made from studies done on COVID 19 patients based on the above criteria ? "If so whether the evidence is weak or moderate or strong? The evidence should be in public domain and available for scientific scrutiny. Wether the severe form of Covid 19 a Hyperimmune status or an immune deficiency status?," it further asked.
It also questioned the ministry whether the propenents of this claim and the Ministry are prepared to subject themselves as volunteers to an independent prospective Double Blind Control Study in prevention and treatment of Covid?
"How many of his ministerial colleagues have so far made the informed choice of getting treated under these protocols? What is stopping him from handing over Covid care and control to AYUSH ministry?," the IMA asked.
IMA demanded that the Union Health Minister should come clean on the above posers. If not he is inflicting a fraud on the nation and gullible patients by calling placebos as drugs," it said.
Vardhan had released a document Tuesday, prescribing protocol for Covid prevention and treatment of asymptomatic as well as mild cases based on ayurveda and yoga. The protocol promotes use of ashwagandha, guduchi, pippali, Ayush 64 tablets in different doses, and yoga to prevent Covid, treat mild symptoms and for post-Covid self-care.
