The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has lambasted yoga guru Baba Ramdev's claims on Patanjali's Coronil as the "first evidence-based medicine for COVID-19", made in the presence of Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. The top medical body has questioned how the Health Minister, who is also a doctor, could promote a "falsely fabricated, unscientific product" before the country.
The launch event of Coronil was held on Friday where Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were also in attendance.
"Coronil has received the Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) from the Ayush section of Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation as per the WHO certification scheme," Patanjali said in a statement.
Additionally, one of the top executives at Patanjali Ayurved, Rakesh Mittal, had doubled down on the claim that Coronil has been "recognised by WHO".
WHO, however, clarified in a tweet that it has not reviewed or certified "any traditional medicine" for the treatment of COVID-19.
"@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19," WHO South-East Asia tweeted.
IMA has expressed deep concerns over the "balant lie" of WHO certification for a "secret medicine" launched in the presence of the Health Minister. It further reitereted that the country "needs an explanation" from the minister.
"Being a Health Minister of the country, how appropriate and rational is it to release such false projections in front of the whole country? Being a Health Minister of the country, how justified is it to release such falsely fabricated unscientific product to people of the whole country? Being a Health Minister of the country, how ethical is it to promote the product in unethical, wrong and false ways to the whole country? Being a Health Minister of the country and a Modern Medicine doctor, how ethical is it to promote the unscientific product to the citizens of the country," said the medical organization in a statement.
"The false and fabricated projection of an unscientific medicine by the Health Minister to the entire country and being rejected by WHO is a slap and insult to the people of country" and blatant deceiving of people, it added.
If Coronil was effective for prevention, why was the government spending Rs 35,000 crores for vaccination, IMA questioned.
