Doctors oppose Kerala govt. move to distribute homeopathic drugs among schoolchildren

The IMA functionaries claimed that distributing untested drugs that could put the lives of children in peril was a serious lapse.

The Kerala government’s decision to distribute a homeopathic preventive drug against COVID-19 among school students ahead of resumption of offline classes on November 1 has not gone down well with modern medicine practitioners and public health activists.

While the Indian Medical Association (IMA) is planning to approach the Supreme Court, the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) urged the government to revoke the proposal.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently issued a directive to distribute Arsenicum Album 30 CH, a preventive medicine against COVID-19 listed by the Union AYUSH Ministry, among schoolchildren. 30 CH relates to the drug’s potency number. Three pills are proposed to be given to the children three times in a gap of 21 days. The Supreme Court had last year observed that “homeopathy is contemplated to be used in preventing and mitigating COVID-19 as is reflected by the advisory and guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of AYUSH.”