Governments of many countries will soon reopen all the industries and businesses because of the crumbling economy. To keep the coronavirus infection at bay after resuming everything, people are stretching on the importance of immunity boosters that will help to build immunity against COVID-19. These immunity boosters are the range of products and ‘suggestions’ given by medical organizations and government to ‘boost immunity’. However, the real question arises is whether the immunity boosters will flatten the curve during COVID-19?
In India, the claims about immunity boosters and the products being distributed on the basis of it are high and government-funded because of the presence of many alternative medicine systems. Some more products already on the market, such as herbal drinks and other foodstuffs, frequently followed by ambiguous promises that they contain vitamins or probiotics, make bold statements about ‘boosting’ immunity without having tested them directly. Most of these products in India are acclaimed as alternative forms of treatment even though their active pharmaceutical ingredients aren’t backed by clinical trials. Even the government, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Ayush Ministry supports such immunity boosters.
In India, the Ministry of AYUSH and other concerned authorities should at least consider tempering or mutating their claims relating to immunity. Such claims may improve a product’s commercial viability but only at the cost of spreading misinformation about the workings of the immune system. They will all be clamped down by the government – in addition to overhauling the regulatory system. In these crucial times, the government must pay close attention to health-related claims on foods and drugs for as long as the pandemic lasts, and take all steps to quench the slightest bit of misinformation. Doctors and medical researchers have only advised prevention in the absence of a vaccine or an effective antiviral drug – by washing your hands, using alcohol-based sanitizers, wearing a mask when stepping outside, etc.
