Fresh COVID-19 guidelines released for Ayurveda, Unani practitioners

The Ministry of Ayush has released revised guidelines for Ayurveda and Unani practitioners for Covid-19 patients in home isolation and Ayurveda and Unani preventive measures for self-care.

In a media release, the ministry said the main focus of the guidelines is on self-care and home management of COVID-19.

"These guidelines for COVID-19 patients in home isolation and preventive measures for self-care are based on leads from classical Ayurveda and Unani texts, the outcome of research studies, reports and recommendations of the interdisciplinary committee and which will further strengthen our fight in combating COVID-19 in the emerging situation," the ministry said.

"Notably, these guidelines and advisories were developed through an extensive consultative process by the Empowered Committee within the Interdisciplinary Ayush Research and Development Task Force set up by the Ministry of Ayush."

The ministry said the Project Monitoring Unit for COVID-19 studies, Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and National Medicinal Plant Board (NMPB) worked on formulating the advisories and Guidelines.

• The ministry has also promoted the use of ready-made formulation like 'AyushKwath'(Ayurveda) which is a simple admixture of four herbal ingredients which are well known in India and outside India for their immunomodulatory and anti-viral activities along with several other health benefits.

• Vasa (Malabar nut), Yashtimadhu (Liquorice root) and Guduchi (Giloy) may be added to the Kwatha as per requirement.

• The effective evidence-based Ayurveda and Unani formulations/measures such as AYUSH-64, Ashwagandha tablets, etc. have been included for the management of asymptomatic and mild cases of COVID-19 during home isolation.

India is reeling under the impact of the second wave of coronavirus. The country has been reported over 3 lakh daily cases in the last few days. On Monday, India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.