AYUSH Minister Sh. Shripad Yesso Naik and Health Minister Sh. Harsh Vardhan will jointly launch three AYUSH based studies related to COVID-19 situation tomorrow at New Delhi. 

Ministry of AYUSH has taken initiatives to address the COVID 19 pandemic problem in the country through clinical studies (prophylactic and add-on interventions) of AYUSH systems. The ministry is also studying the impacts of AYUSH based prophylactic interventions in high risk population and AYUSH advocacies and AYUSH measures for prevention of COVID 19.

Ministry of AYUSH has setup an Interdisciplinary Ayush R&D Task Force with a group of experts under the chairmanship of Dr Bhushan Patvardhan, Vice Chairmen, University Grant Commission (UGC) to formulate and develop strategies for this initiative.

Formal launch of the following studies will take place on 07^th May, 2020:

1. Clinical research studies on Ayurveda interventions as prophylaxis and as an add-on to standard care to COVID 19: Collaborative clinical studies as a joint initiative of 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 of ICMR.

The Interdisciplinary Ayush R&D Task Force has formulated and designed clinical research protocols for prophylactic studies and add-on interventions in COVID-19 positive cases through thorough review and consultative process of experts of high repute from different organisations across the country for studying four different interventions viz. Ashwagandha, Yashtimadhu, Guduchi +Pippali and a poly herbal formulation (AYUSH-64)

1. 1. Ashwagandha for the Prophylaxes Against SARS-COV-2 in subjects with increased risk during the COVID 19 Pandemic: A comparison with Hydroxychloroquine in the health care providers and

1. 2. Effectiveness of Ayurveda Formulation as an adjunct to ‘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.

2. Population based interventional studies on impact of AYUSH based prophylactic interventions: The ministry of AYUSH is initiating population based studies to study the impact of Ayurvedic Interventions in prevention of COVID-19 infection in high risk population. The core objectives comprise of, assessment of preventive potential of AYUSH interventions for COVID 19 and also to assess the improvement in Quality of Life in high risk population. The study will be carried out through four Research Councils under Ministry of AYUSH and National Institutes in 25 states across the country and several State Governments covering approximately 5 lakhs population.

The outcome of the study would certainly pave a new horizon in understanding the preventive potential of AYUSH interventions during pandemics like COVID 19 through scientific evidence.

3. Ayush Sanjivani application based study for impact assessment of acceptance and usage of AYUSH advisories in its role in prevention of COVID 19: The Ministry of AYUSH has developed Ayush Sanjivani mobile app, for generating data of large population with a target of 5 million people. The core expected outcomes includes to generate data on acceptance and usage of AYUSH advocacies and measures among the population and its impact in prevention of COVID 19.

***

RJ/SK