COVID Vaccine: Ramdev, Odisha Health Advisors Strike Discordant Notes

Bhubaneswar: While a committee of health experts has advised the Odisha government to intensify vaccination to contain the spread of COVID-19, yoga guru Baba Ramdev has struck a discordant note by claiming that the allopathy jabs are virtually of no use.

At a videoconferencing with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last week, the committee head, K Srinath Reddy, had stressed that advance planning of vaccination could possibly be taken up as per the advice of expert doctors.

Another member of the advisory committee and noted cardiac surgeon Dr Devi Shetty stressed that the cost-effectiveness of vaccination is far better than lockdown. He further said priority in vaccination should be on the basis of occupation rather than age group.

Contrary to these advices, Ramdev has again questioned the legitimacy of COVID-19 vaccines. He claimed that he hasn’t taken a jab as he enjoyed the dual cover of yoga and Ayurveda.

“For decades, I have been practising yoga and Ayurveda, so I didn’t feel the need to get vaccinated. Over 100 crore people of India as well as in foreign countries have access to these ancient therapies. In the times to come, Ayurveda will be globally accepted,” Ramdev was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The yoga exponent further claimed that the fatalities caused by the pandemic showed that allopathy was not 100% effective,

Also Read: Modern Ayurveda Anyone? The Problem With Getting Stuck In Ancientness

Ramdev had recently triggered a major controversy after one of his videos surfaced in which he purportedly called allopathy a “stupid science”. He later retracted the comments following objections by IMA and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.