Traditional medicines boost India’s fight against coronavirus

By Charles Lotara
As the world wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic, India has found solace in its effective home-made medicines extracted from traditional herbs, an official statement extended to The City Review reveals.
India Ambassador to South Sudan S.D Moorthy said traditional medicines have proved to be effective in building the body’s immune system against various kinds of illnesses for centuries. The diplomat hinted that the medicines have also proved essential in guarding the immune system against SARS-Cov-2, the virus that spreads COVID-19.
“The people of India have been using traditional medicines for varieties of simple and chronic diseases in the country for centuries. At the time of corona [sic] pandemic, these traditional medicines were found very effective to boost the body immunity condition to fight the deadly virus,” he said in a statement.
Moorthy says the medicines, which are already attracting a global demand are being promoted through a government-established ministry, which also guides consumers on wellness practices regarding the medicines.
“The government of India has established a separate Ministry called AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) in the year 2014 to promote these traditional medicines and wellness practices among the population in India and internationally for the benefit of mankind,” Moorthy said.
According to a document seen by The City Review, the Ministry of AYUSH through various legislations is looking after the issues of medical education, registration of practitioners, drugs, and practice of the system about the aforementioned medical specifications.
Matters related to education and practices, the document says, are regulated by the Central Clinic of Indian Medicine and the Central Council of Homeopathy, which are the statutory bodies established under the country’s provisional health legislation.
India is one of the Asian hard-hit countries by the pandemic, which left many under lockdown with a daily spike in the number of infection and death cases.
By the time of writing this article, India recorded 67,151 new cases of infection with and 1,059 deaths, bringing the tally to 32,34,475 COVID-19 cases, including 7,07,267 patients who are under treatment, 24,67,759 who have recovered and 59,449 deaths.
Trials for the Oxford University’s vaccine, developed in collaboration with AstraZeneca, was set to commence in India on Wednesday where six volunteers would be administered doses at Pune’s Baharati Vidyapeeth medical college and hospital according to the COVID-19 vaccine tracker.
The Indian Express reports that this is the phase-2 of the trial as it was not mandatory to conduct phase-1 trials in India where the safety of the vaccine is assessed.