Harsh Vardhan should say he is not endorsing Patanjali's Coronil: IMA

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan should come out with a statement that he is not endorsing the sale of Coronil as a curative medicine for Covid-19, said Dr J A Jayalal, national president of Indian Medical Association (IMA).

The statement was in response to the Delhi Medical Association defending Dr Vardhan’s attendance at the launch of Coronil, which Yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali group claims can be used to treat coronavirus.

Underlining that IMA is a professional body, Dr Jayalal said that as its national president he had expressed the scientific view of 3.5 lakhs doctors “on this public gimmick mela.”

In an earlier press statement, the IMA had raised questions regarding the nature of the clinical trials conducted by the Patanjali Research Institute.

Delhi Medical Association has criticised the IMA for making “baseless” statements on Dr Harsh Vardhan. He had attended Patanjali Research Institute’s launch of Coronil in his capacity as a minister and not as a practitioner of modern medicine, it said.