Doctors are warning against the practice of using cow dung in the belief it will ward off Covid-19, saying there is no scientific evidence for its effectiveness and that it risks spreading other diseases.
Doctors in Gujarat have cautioned that cow dung offers no protection from the coronavirus but may cause other infections including mucormycosis or black fungus.
Some believers in Gujarat have been going to cow shelters once a week to cover their bodies in dung and urine in the hope it will boost their immunity against, or help them recover from, the coronavirus.
“We see. even doctors come here. Their belief is that this therapy improves their immunity and they can go and tend to patients with no fear,” said Gautam Manilal Borisa, an associate manager at a pharmaceuticals company.
Dozens of Covid-19 vaccination centres in Maharashtra and Odisha suspended operations on Friday after running out of vaccine stocks, a day after Union health minister Harsh Vardhan had asserted there was no vaccine shortage.
Several private hospitals in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, too have reported they have no vaccines, while Bengal, Odisha and Rajasthan have told the Centre they would run out of vaccine stocks in two days.
The Union health ministry did not explain why so many vaccination centres in at least five states had or would soon run out of stocks, but one health expert tracking the campaign said it was “obviously either a supply issue or a distribution issue”.
Reasons behind Maharashtraâs disastrous Covid showing dragging the India story down
Reasons behind Maharashtraâs disastrous Covid showing dragging the India story down
Maharashtra has 56% of Indiaâs active Covid cases, but just 9.3% vaccinations and 7.6% tests. Experts say need of the hour is to prioritise high-burden districts for vaccinations.
Abantika Ghosh 15 March, 2021 8:46 am IST Text Size:
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New Delhi: Maharashtra has rarely fallen off the list of Indian states worst hit by Covid-19 since April 2020, and now, another recent surge is causing grave worry.
The state accounts for 56 per cent of all active cases in India currently, with eight of the top 10 districts in the country. In the last one month, in fact, Maharashtra has shown an explosive spurt in active cases from 36,917 on 11 February to 1,00,240 on 11 March.