#Indian yoga guru slammed for ‘irresponsible’ COVID views

Natural remedies could help treat a number of non-fatal conditions, from depression to minor injury.

What they absolutely cannot do is cure COVID-19.

So when celebrity yogi and homeopathic business mogul Baba Ramdev suggested that coronavirus patients were “fools” for seeking medical assistance, doctors quickly slammed the beloved guru.

“For more than a year, healthcare workers like me have been in a war-like situation. We have saved tens of thousands of lives,” said Dr. A. Fathahudeen, a pulmonologist and pandemic frontline worker in India, according to the BBC. “It’s really unfortunate, insulting and hurtful to read such statements.”

The BBC also reported that doctors called Ramdev’s words “irresponsible and demoralizing.”

The controversy erupted after comments made by Ramdev surfaced in the media, which quote the yoga practitioner criticizing coronavirus patients for seeking conventional health care methods, also known as allopathy.

“God has given us free oxygen — why don’t we breathe that?” he reportedly said. “How can there be a shortage when God has filled the atmosphere with oxygen? Fools are looking for oxygen cylinders. Just breathe the free oxygen. Why are you complaining about shortage of oxygen and beds and crematoriums?”

One of the primary ways COVID-19 causes death is by devastating the respiratory system — a condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The virus causes alveoli in the lungs, where oxygen from the air is distributed to the bloodstream, to be choked out by an excess of mucus, white blood cells and necrotic tissue, making breathing alone increasingly difficult and, eventually, impossible.

India’s health minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, has since demanded Ramdev apologize for his uninformed comments.

“Allopathy and the doctors attached to it have given new lives to millions of people. It’s very unfortunate for you to say that people died from consuming allopathic medicines,” read a statement by Vardhan, according to the BBC.

“We should not forget that this battle can only be won through united efforts,” he added.

Ramdev reportedly withdrew his statement. But then he goaded the Indian Medical Association, asking why modern medicine hadn’t caught up to some of the most common diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

“We follow evidence-based practice,” Fathahudeen told the BBC. “At any given time, thousands of researchers are working to come up with cures,” adding, “It’s hard to trust any branch of medicine that offers absolute cure for every disease.”

Ramdev launched ubiquitous herbal brand Patanjali Ayurveda after gaining fame through his televised yoga classes. Last year, the company introduced Coronil, an herbal treatment that Ramdev touted as a cure for COVID-19. However, their launch campaign was quickly thwarted by lawmakers who accused the brand of false advertising. Coronil remains available and is sold now as an “immunity booster.” In addition, earlier this year the World Health Organization released a statement that they had not “reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment.”