Coronavirus pandemic | Demand for ayurvedic health care products increases amid COVID-19 crisis

PM Modi recently highlighted the benefits of Ayurveda and urged people to "have a look" at AYUSH Ministry's protocol to stay fit, saying "good health is the harbinger of happiness"

Moneycontrol News

April 30, 2020 / 11:55 AM IST

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Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the demand for ayurvedic products with health benefits and immunity building qualities has increased across the nation, Business Standard has reported.

According to the report, companies like Dabur and Himalaya Wellness said they have seen an increase in demand for ayurvedic products across portfolios.

The demand for ayurvedic products has gone up, said the report quoting Harsha V Agarwal, director at Emami. The company is witnessing a strong demand for its key products, particularly the immunity booster range that includes Chyawanprash, Honey, Giloy tablets, Giloy Churna, Ashwagandha capsules and the recently launched Immunity Kit, the report said.

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In Himalaya, all products under the umbrella of wellness and immunity have witnessed a considerable increase in demand, Philipe Haydon, chief executive at The Himalaya Drug Company was quoted as saying. The company has seen a surge in demand, particularly in its Pure Herbs range such as Guduchi, Tulasi, Amalaki, Ashvagandha, as per the report.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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