by Kamal Pratap Singh
Experts from the medical fraternity of India have disapproved Ramdev’s comments about the inefficacy of allopathic medicines in fighting COVID-19. Neither Baba Ramdev nor IMA chief have described which medicine has been the reason of disrespect & deaths. If we talk about of allopathic medicine then Yes they do have failed miserably, not only jeopardized lives as well as the precious money. For COVID-19 Remedisivir, HCQ and several other drugs were granted EUA by FDA/WHO/DCGI and other regulatory agencies which were failed subsequently. Of course there are other allopathic drugs too that are working.
As analyzed Patanjali as an ayurveda organization has some medicinal solutions through Ayurveda and Yoga that are effective against viral infections and have shown positive results w.r.t boosting immunity. It is also established that Ayurveda is science and Ayurveda does not produce side-effects (including severe adverse reactions) or kill people like allopathic medicines does. Ayurvedic medicines are not tailored made within weeks or months but have traditional experience of thousands of years. Ayurveda is an ancient Hindu system of medicine as well as a general philosophy of health and wellness. It includes advice on diet, exercise, sleep, and hygiene, as well as the use of herbal preparations.
Baba Ramdev accused allopathic medicine system to be profit seeker and it has been found that the profiteering and lobbying is not restricted through govt. organizations but publishing houses too plays an important role. As we can see there are more than 120 retracted articles on Retraction watch, some of which were published in highly respected journals but later their positions were scratched abruptly when the popular drugs reported and retracted in The Lancet, Journal of Computational Biology; New England Journal of Medicine, The Scientist, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and many others. It led to the dismissal of several drugs like Calcifediol, Ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, etc.
Remdesivir and other three drugs, part of UK’s COVID19 Solidarity trial drug candidates failed to achieve results and then whole trial was terminated. Similarly US trial failed miserably. Israel Institute of Biological Research (IIBR) developed an antibody to COVID-19 but is nowhere in current race. Takis in Italy announced that they have successfully developed a vaccine that can help contain the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 but is nowhere. In India, Serum Institute of India is enjoying benefits because it is backed up by a UK giant Astrazeneca and enjoying international privileges. Plasma theory was advocated by FDA in a timely manner for approval and disapproval without any concrete stand. US drugmaker Gilead’s antiviral drug Remdesivir undergone large trials in China, it was developed by CanSino Biological Inc. and Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. The role of Remdesivir now we know has been painted black in COVID-19 after objections on several clinical studies. Companies and individuals in USA have been seen to sell ‘Miracle Mineral Solution’ on the internet in the name of CoV, putting people’s lives at danger.
The China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines are extreme examples which have been approved by the World Health Organisation for emergency use, while there have been questions about the efficacy of the vaccines, most significantly, the trial found the vaccines to be fully effective in preventing severe infections with the trial reporting zero severe cases among the vaccinated group. It is possible that countries who got inoculated by China will be contending with rolling lockdowns on day-to-day life for months or years to come. According to a news source, one month after receiving second dose of Sinopharm, Otgonjargal Baatar fell ill and tested positive for COVID-19 this 31-year-old miner spent nine days in a hospital in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. He said he was now questioning the usefulness of the shot.
There was a huge flow of money too for vaccines and drugs which were later terminated, according to sources, the international organizations have accumulated more than 40 billion US$. WHO, CEPI, GAVI, World bank and other international organizations have accumulated fund for vaccination of people of countries that could not afford vaccine R&D and manufacturing but these organizations are preferring only US, UK and Chinese vaccines and the ignorance of the safest vaccine of Indian Bharat Biotech is a good example to prove how profitable is this business for them.
Patanjali has had started to make formulations in the month of May 2020 and Ashwagandha was the first ingredient that would go for the permission of Indian Govt. to conduct randomised controlled clinical trial in COVID-19 cases. This was a joint initiative of the ministries of AYUSH, health, and science and technology through CSIR with technical support from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the supervision of Union Health Minister HarshVardhan.
Following the controversial statement on allopathy, , the Secretary-General of the IMA, Dr. Jayesh Lele’s offensive stance against Swami Ramdev continues. After complaints from the PMM and defamation case of 1000 crores, a complaint has been lodged against them in Delhi and in Chhattisgarh as well.
But in response he asked if allopathy offered permanent relief from hypertension (BP) and type-1 and 2 diabetes. “Does the pharma industry have permanent treatment for thyroid, arthritis, colitis and asthma?” he asked. Ramdev went on to ask if allopathy had medicines for fatty liver and liver cirrhosis. “Like you found a cure for TB and chicken pox, look for treatments for liver ailments. After All, allopathy is now 200 years old.”
Baba Ramdev was also seen to say that why and how these foreign companies which are selling food and healthcare products were allowed to sell products in the name of coronavirus. CCPA had issued notice to 14 companies for running misleading advertisement on Indian televisions but IMA and Dr. Jayesh Lele said nothing at that time. These 14 companies comes from various sectors such as water purifier, paints, floor cleaner, apparel, disinfectant, furniture for resorting to misleading claims such as immunity, COVID-19 virus protection etc.
Baba Ramdev is not alone who went against multinational allopathy companies and drugs, there are many people and groups who are trying to put facts about the profiteering and lack of transparency in Pharma practices in health pandemics. Late last year, a semi-retired British scientist Michael Yeadon co-authored a petition to Europe’s medicines regulator. Michael Yeadon was a scientific researcher and vice president at drugs giant Pfizer Inc.
Recently, Transparency International (TI) the world’s leading non-governmental anticorruption organisation which is addressing corruption in its many forms through a network of more than 100 national chapters worldwide found that there is a lack of huge transparency in clinical trials of COVID-19 drugs.
Published in July 2021 Issue
References
1. https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2021/05/24/ramdev-kicks-up-fresh-row-with-25-questions-to-ima-pharma-companies.html
2. https://www.ibtimes.co.in/baba-ramdev-attacks-medical-mafia-challenges-pharma-companies-attack-aamir-khan-836924
3. https://www.biotechexpressmag.com/allopathy-vs-ayurveda-after-covid-why-firs-against-baba-ramdev/
4. https://www.biotechexpressmag.com/ayurveda-and-allopathy-conflict-baba-and-ministry-confronting-each-other/
5. https://www.biotechexpressmag.com/indian-medical-association-furious-after-union-health-minister-harshvardhan-promoting-patanjalis-coronil/
