Thiruvananthapuram: Ayurveda experts have suggested that modern healthcare and the traditional system can complement each other to effectively control the pandemic and protect more lives.
Addressing a virtual conference organised by the Kerala-headquartered Vaidyaratnam Group, experts of the ancient healthcare system said that by blending classical theory and practice with modern science, ayurveda has managed to effectively treat mild to moderate cases of Covid in the country.
"Synergy between tradition supported by technology is the new normal that we have to take forward. We need to retain and revive this traditional knowledge on the basis of scientific rigor," said Tanuja Nesari, director, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), New Delhi.
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The virtual ceremony was organised as part of founder's commemoration day of the Vaidyaratnam Group.
Addressing the second and concluding day of the conference, Nesari noted that a significant 99.99 per cent of the patients who were treated for Covid had recovered well at AIIA's Covid care centre.
Sharing her experience of treating Covid patients, with Ayurveda practitioners from across India, she said that each and every patient was supported by yoga, diet, lifestyle, recreation and the treatment was also aided by technology.
"We have retained the classical crux, the principle theory and practices of Ayurveda, developed our own holistic treatment protocol and it's all supported by conventional bio-medical tools of investigation like MRI, CT Scan, ventilators, RT-PCR test, oxygen therapists."
According to the director of Vaidyaratnam Group, E.T. Neelakandhan Mooss, the judicious use of advancements in other streams of science has helped validating Ayurveda in the global platform, where the tag of "traditional medicine" got replaced with "evidence based medicine".
Describing Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda Research Institute (VARI) as one such place where expert scientists integrate Ayurveda with the latest technology, he said that the advancement in the field of ayurvedic raw drug agriculture using 'Miyawaki' method to the identification of new drug delivery systems are backed up by the latest trends of science and technology.
"Thus, the Vaidyaratnam Group has always been trying to scientifically update its different verticals like cultivation, medicine manufacturing, process validation, drug discovery and healthcare without losing its quality," he said.
With children likely to be more susceptible to Covid infection during the anticipated third wave amidst a slow pace of vaccination in many parts of the country, the two-day conference held to formulate a uniform Ayurveda treatment protocol for children also underlined the need for preventive measures.
Experts emphasised the need for proper diet, healthy lifestyle, recreation and yoga, along with Covid appropriate behaviour like maintaining safe distance and sanitation would keep children safe amid the pandemic.