None Of The COVID-19 Patients Who Used Ayurvedic Medicines Died: AYUSH Secretary

Ayush Secretary Rajesh Kotecha said it during the ongoing 9th edition of the World Ayurveda Congress at Panaji.

Less than half per cent of the COVID-19 patients who used Ayurvedic formulations were hospitalised and none of them died due to the disease, said Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of Ministry of AYUSH. He informed this while speaking at a session on 'National Ayush Research Consortium (NARC)' at the ongoing 9th edition of the World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) & Arogya Expo 2022 on Friday.

According to Kotecha, AYUSH Ministry carried out a clinical study including more than 100,000 COVID-19 patients, in collaboration with Seva Bharathi, Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) and other universities.

He said, "Out of these patients, 65,000 people were in home isolation, and only 300 of them required hospital life. It is less than half per cent and the rate of hospitalisation was 7-10 per cent at that time."

None of the patients who used Ayurvedic medicines died due to the pandemic.

Need to scale up research and address lack of skills

Noting that AYUSH is a science and there is huge expectation from the sector, Kotecha stressed the need to scale up research and address lack of skilling in the sector by bringing all stakeholders together to deliver effective results.

He pointed out that research of AYUSH is limited to the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), CCRS and Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCMRUM). s

"There is a great mismatching of skilling in the sector and all stakeholders must act together to find a solution. We need to find a mechanism that will open up possibilities for the sector, country as well as the globe as there are lots of unanswered questions to be answered," he added.

Speaking at the session, Dr Nandini Kumar, Former Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), called for interdisciplinary collaboration, inter-professionalism and capacity building.

Dr Ram Manohar, Director, Amrita Centre for Advanced Research in Ayurveda (ACARA), Amritapuri, highlighted the importance of creating a roadmap for research and practice in Ayurveda.

The 9th edition of the World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) & Arogya Expo 2022, which will continue till December 11, is being organised by World Ayurveda Foundation, an initiative of Vijnana Bharati, with the support of the Ministry of Ayush and Govt. of Goa.