The National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for the management of Covid-19 was released jointly by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, Union Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH virtually, today. Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog also graced the virtual event.

On this occasion, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that experts and other national research organizations have prepared the National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda & Yoga for management of Covid-19 as per the Report & Recommendations of the Interdisciplinary Committee which will further strengthen our fight against COVID 19.

Addressing the gathering through video conference Shri Shripad Naik said that Ministry of AYUSH had setup an Interdisciplinary AYUSH Research and Development Task Force with a group of senior experts to formulate and develop strategies for this initiative. He said that Ministry of AYUSH has undertaken many clinical, observational studies to understand the role of AYUSH intervention in mitigation and management of COVID 19. The Minister informed that the Ministry has also setup a Interdisciplinary Committee for Integration of Ayurveda and Yoga Interventions in the 'National Clinical Management Protocol: COVID-19, which was chaired by Dr V M Katoch, former Director General ICMR and group of experts.

The Protocol is a milestone in the evolving response and management of Covid- 19. The significance of the National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for the management of Covid-19 is that it ends the ambiguity around deploying Ayurveda and Yoga-based solutions for the clinical management of Covid- 19. The subsequent versions of the Protocol will cover other disciplines of Ayush. The present protocol provides clear guidance to Ayush practitioners of the said two disciplines regarding treatment of Covid 19 patients in different conditions of infection. This brings in uniformity and consistency in the Ayush-based responses to the pandemic across the country. It also helps State/UT governments to plan and incorporate these solutions into the Covid-19 management activities being deployed on the ground.

The protocol is expected to contribute to the mainstreaming of Ayush solutions for the management of Covid-19, and will be immensely beneficial to the public since these solutions are easily accessible and will help to alleviate the hardships brought in by the pandemic.

As the pandemic continues across the globe, attempts are being made in many countries to integrate traditional interventions along with standard of care. In India, experience from Covid-19 response activities as reported from different parts of the country have shown that Ayurveda and Yoga can play a pivotal role to augment the standard preventive measures for Covid-19. (The standard preventive measures are those provided in the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare). Taking note of this potential of Ayurveda and Yoga, expert committees from the concerned National Institutes and Central Councils for Research Centres along with a few other noted research institutions have collaborated and developed a protocol for the management of Covid-19.

Dr. V. K. Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, Shri Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary (Health & Family Welfare) and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary (AYUSH) also spoke at the launch- event.

MV/SK