On May 7, 2020, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy(AYUSH) Shripad Yesso Naik jointly launched Ayush Sanjivani application(app) & clinical research studies on Ayurveda interventions as an addition to standard care to COVID 19 situation in New Delhi. Shripad Yesso Naik participates through a video conference in Goa.
R&D Task Force
To formulate & develop strategies for this initiative an “Interdisciplinary Ayush Research & Development(R&D) Task Force” is set up with a group of experts under the chairmanship of Dr Bhushan Patvardhan, Vice-Chairman, University Grant Commission (UGC).
Gist about the studies
Clinical research study on Ayurveda interventions
i.It is a collaborative study on Ayurveda interventions as prophylaxis(measures to prevent against disease) and standard care to COVID 19 by the Ministry of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Science & Technology through Council of Scientific & Industrial Research(CSIR) with technical support from Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR).
ii.The task force will review & consult this process by top reputed from different organisations across the country to study four different interventions namely Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi +Pippali and a polyherbal formulation (AYUSH-64)
- The study will be made on Ashwagandha as a Prophylaxis Against SARS-COV-2 in subject with high risk during the COVID 19 Pandemic & comparison will be made between Hydroxychloroquine in the health care providers and
- The efficacy of the Ayurvedic formula in addition with a standard of care for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19(A Randomized, Open-Label, Parallel Efficacy, Active Control, Multi-Centre Exploratory Drug Trial)
Population based interventional study
i.The ministry of AYUSH has initiated this research on impact of AYUSH based prophylactic interventions
Objective– Assess the preventive potential of AYUSH interventions for COVID 19 and the improvement in quality of life in high risk population.
ii.The outcome of the study will pave a new outlook in understanding the preventive potential of AYUSH interventions during pandemics like COVID 19 through scientific evidence.
Ayush Sanjivani application-based study
i.The Ministry of AYUSH & The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) has developed Ayush Sanjivani mobile application to generate data for a large population targeting 5 million people.
ii.The core expected outcomes include generating data on the acceptance and usage of AYUSH advocacies and measures among the population and its impact in prevention of COVID 19.
About CSIR:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Director General (DG)– Dr Shekhar Mande
About ICMR:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Director-General (DG)– Professor Balram Bhargava.
About MoHFW:
Union Minister– Harsh Vardhan(Constituency- Chandni Chowk, New Delhi)
Minister of State– Ashwini Kumar Choubey (Constituency- Buxar, Bihar )
About AYUSH Ministry:
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Shripad Yesso Naik(Constituency- North Goa)
About MeitY:
Union Minister– Ravi Shankar Prasad(Constituency- Patna Sahib, Bihar)
Minister of State– Sanjay Dhotre(Constituency- Akola, Maharashtra)
