FACT CHECK: No, Patanjali's Coronil has not been approved by WHO
Several news outlets have been sharing the false news that Patanjali's 'Coronil' has been recognized as a medicine for...
By Newsmeter Network Published on 22 Feb 2021 12:36 PM IST
HYDERABAD: Several news outlets have been sharing the false news that Patanjali's 'Coronil' has been recognized as a medicine for COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Coronil, a medicine that claims to boost immunity against COVID-19 was developed by Yoga guru Ramdev as the "first evidence-based ayurvedic medicine" against the coronavirus.
NEWS NATION TV, ASIAN NEWS, TV9 GUJARATI, and NEWS STATE have falsely reported claiming that Coronil has been approved by WHO.
Archive links:
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However, the claim that the WHO has recognized and certified the medicine is false.
FACT CHECK:
NewsMeter found a tweet by Acharya Balkrishna, M.D. of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, that clarified the confusion. He said that the Goods Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliant Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product (CoPP) to Coronil has been issued by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Government of India. He further stated that the WHO does not approve or disapprove of any drugs.
Patanjali's Coronil has been issued a CPP by the AYUSH section of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation under the Government of India and has not been approved or recommended by WHO
We also found a tweet by the WHO southeast Asia that clarifies, "@WHO has not reviewed or certified the effectiveness of any traditional medicine for the treatment #COVID19".
We also found news reports by HINDUSTAN TIMES, NDTV, and BUSINESS TODAY that report that Patanjali has clarified on Coronil Certification and that the WHO has not reviewed the Coronil.
The NDTV report reads: "WHO provides benchmarks for certifications but does not certify or approve the medicine itself. The GMP guidelines provide a set of quality control benchmarks to ensure that medicines are consistently produced and controlled to the quality standards appropriate for their intended use. If a country wants to import Pantanjali's Coronil, it will request a CoPP from the country's regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) through Patanjali. The certificate is then issued by the DCGI in accordance with WHO's guidelines".
Therefore, the claim that Patanjali's Coronil has been approved by the WHO is false. The Coronil cannot be used as a cure for COVID-19. As the company and the government have stated that Coronil should only be used as a 'supporting measure' in treating COVID-19.
