Indian doctors fault distribution of unproven herbal COVID-19 remedy

Indian doctors have faulted the free distribution of an unproven remedy to COVID-19 patients by the state of Haryana as the maker of the herbal medicine faced a backlash over claims that modern medicine had caused deaths.

The northern state,  ruled by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janta Party, said it would hand out the herbal drug Coronil to COVID-19 patients. 

The ayurvedic medicine was launched by yoga guru Baba Ramdev's company Patanjali Ayurved in 2020 as a COVID-19 cure.

The government later said the consumer goods company co-founded by Ramdev could not market the drug as a cure, and it needed to market it as an immunity booster.

But Ajay Khanna, the state secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) who spoke in Uttarakhand, where Patanjali is headquartered, said there is no scientific basis to Coronil's use in treating COVID-19 patients. 

"If the Haryana government is doing this, then it is their loss. He (Ramdev) is more of a businessman than anything else. To sell his product, he has sparked a fight between allopathic medicine and ayurveda," Khanna said.

The Uttarakhand unit of IMA filed a lawsuit against the yoga guru, asking him to write an apology for his recent statement that science-based treatments had caused the deaths of thousands of COVID-19 patients.

The comment drew the ire of doctors across the country and Ramdev, who has a large following in India, withdrew his remarks weekend.

Ayurveda is an ancient Indian system that includes medicines, meditation, exercise and dietary guidelines practiced by millions of adherents.

The outcry over the remedy and the guru's comments comes weeks after Indian doctors warned against the practice of smearing cow dung on the body in the belief it will ward off COVID-19, saying there was no scientific evidence of its effectiveness and it risked spreading other diseases. read more

India's has had 27.16 million cases of the coronavirus and 311,388 deaths, according to health ministry data, and a devastating second wave of infections is sweeping many parts of the country.

Traditional medicine is popular with many people, partly because of a lack of access to healthcare, but doctors have warned of the danger of people putting their trust in alternative treatments for COVID-19.

"You lower your guard thinking you're protected in some way, but I think real harm can be caused by giving people a false sense of security," said Lancelot Pinto, a consultant pulmonologist at Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.

A spoonful of miracle medicine made by a local Ayurveda practitioner Borigi Anandaiah, from some herbs and regular household ingredients like black pepper, cumin, honey, turmeric, neem, camphor, etc., was said to be preventing COVID-19, and curing the infection in patients providing better relief than the allopathy treatment.

SCI, GSK enhance COVID-19 response in Ikorodu with N38m medical equipment

AS part of the continuous efforts to support the  Lagos State Government to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Lagos, support the frontline workers in their work on the pandemic, and sustain ongoing health care responses to the pandemic, Save the Children International, SCI, has donated response equipment valued at N38 million to the State government.

The donated equipment that includes Personal Protection Equipment, Infection Prevention and Control, IPC, commodities and medical oxygen devices, among others, are to be distributed to all the 28 primary health care centres and two General Hospitals in Ikorodu LGA of the  State.

The donation is aimed at ensuring availability of adequate oxygen therapy to patients with the infection, as well as under-five children with severe pneumonia in the State. 

Donation of the critical devices and commodities is made possible through the support of  pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline,GSK, through the Integrated Sustainable Childhood Pneumonia and Infectious Diseases Reduction in Nigeria (INSPIRING) Project.

In the view of the Country Director, SCI Nigeria, Mercy Gichuhi,  Save the Children has worked with the Nigeria government to respond to the pandemic as a member of the COVID-19 Response Task Force at both Federal and several state levels and supporting the development and deployment of COVID-19 strategies to contain the spread of the disease.

She addded that SCI’s new partnership with GSK regarding COVID-19 prevention and control is a step further to catalyse change and contribute to an accelerated reduction in child deaths from pneumonia and other preventable infectious diseases.

“We are aiming to do more to support vulnerable children and families who have been hardest hit by the pandemic, Save the Children International remains committed to support the efforts of controlling and treating COVID-19 and pneumonia through our continued collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Health, ” Gichuhi noted. 

The Chief of Party INSPIRING Project, SCI Nigeria, Dr Isah Adamu, said: “It is very interesting to note that the INSPIRING Project was re-designed to provide room for interventions that support the government in fighting COVID-19 both in Lagos and Jigawa States. 

The project does not only supply medical and non-medical items alone but it is also strengthening the health system in 28 primary health cares and 2 general hospitals in Ikorodu Local Government of Lagos State.

"Ikorodu is one of the largest local government areas in Lagos State with various needs of community development intervention. We believe the donation will complement the preparedness and response of health care workers and also strengthen access to quality health care by the population."

He urged the Lagos State Government to take the lead to adopt the National Medical Oxygen Policy to drive state specific initiatives to ensure access and availability of medical oxygen in healthcare facilities in the State.

The Managing Director of GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria (GSK), Kunle Oyelana said  “During this pandemic, everybody has an important role to play to curtail the spread of the dreadful disease. It is key to us at GSK to partner with other organizations and governments to explore innovative ways to strengthen healthcare systems in communities while providing necessary support and materials to health workers to slow down the spread of the virus.”