Now doctors become 'envoys of god' for Ramdev, asks people to get vaccinated

New Delhi: In complete contrast with his previously expressed views on the efficacy of COVID vaccines, Patanjali Yogpeeth's founder Swami Ramdev now took a U-turn and said that he will soon take the COVID-19 vaccine jab and urged everyone to do the same.

Baba Ramdev appealed to everyone to get vaccinated while advocating the practice of Ayurveda and Yoga, citing that it acted as a protective shield against COVID and prevent casualties.

"Get both doses of the vaccine and the double protection of yoga and Ayurveda. They will combine to give you such a robust shield of protection that not a single person will die from Covid," several media reports quoted Ramdev as saying.

Ramdev had earlier commented that he does not need to take the vaccine jab as he had dual protection from both Ayurveda and yoga.

Lauding PM Modi's decision to centralise the vaccination drive, Ramdev described doctors as "God's envoys on Earth".

Earlier, the founder of Patanjali Ayurveda had stirred a massive controversy following his comments on the efficacy of allopathic drugs against COVID-19, which drew the ire of the medical fraternity from all across India.

In what seems to be an attempt to bury the hatchet with the Indian Medical Association, Ramdev now said that he cannot have any animosity with any organisation. He further added that he was not against modern medicine but the medical mafia which charges more from the people.

The Indian Medical Association on Wednesday had approached the Indian Council of Medical Research against Ramdev's "unprovoked, demeaning and prejudicing utterances against modern medicine". In its complaint, the association termed Ramdev as a quack.