Taking a U-turn on his earlier stand, Yog guru Ramdev on Thursday said that he will soon get the COVID-19 jab and described doctors as 'God's envoys on earth'. This is in sharp contradiction to his earlier stand where Ramdev had said that he did not need the COVID-19 vaccine as he has the protection of yoga and Ayurveda.
Ramdev has been at the centre of controversy due to his comments on the efficacy of allopathic drugs against COVID-19, drawing sharp criticism from the medical fraternity and common public alike.
However, on Thursday Ramdev welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement for a free vaccine to all from June 21, describing it as a 'historic' step and appealed to all to get themselves vaccinated.
"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," PTI quoted Baba Ramdev as saying.
He also said for emergency treatment and surgery, allopathy was the best. "When it comes to emergency treatment and surgery, allopathy is the best. There cannot be two opinions about it," Baba Ramdev said.
Elaborating further Ramdev said, "I am not against any organisation. Good doctors are a real boon. They are God's envoys on earth. But individual doctors can do wrong things," he said.
However, he added that Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras had to be opened because of the tendency among many doctors to prescribe expensive medicines in place of generic drugs, which are much cheaper.
