ROURKELA: The panic over Covid-19 has led to a phenomenal rise in demand for Vitamin C tablets and homeopathic immunity boosters in the city.
The situation is such that various Government health institutions have run out of Vitamin C tablets. Similar is the plight of private medicine stores. The demand for the tablets has gone up substantially since the end of March and is unprecedented, said the owner of a medicine store. Another retailer RC Sahu said chewable tablets with combination of Vitamin C and Zinc like Emmufast, Sukcee and Limee are in high demand.
Director of Rourkela Government Hospital Dr SK Swain said it is not yet clinically proven that Vitamin C can prevent Covid-19 but since it enhances immunity, its consumption has gone up substantially. He said since water soluble Vitamin C gets excreted in urine, there is no harm in consuming it in prescribed quantities.
Besides Vitamin C, the demand for homeopathic immunity booster Arsenic Alba 30 too has gone up in the city. Principal of Utkalmani Homeopathy Medical College and Hospital Dr Ratnakar Panda said the college has supplied doses to more than 80,000 in the city since the end of May and the demand for the medicine continues to be overwhelming.
People are also adopting traditional medicine to boost their immunity and get cured of cold and cough. Sanjay Samal, a local said a fortnight ago he was cured of cold and cough after regularly consuming ‘Kada’, a homemade syrup of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, jaggery, Tejpatta (Indian Bay Leaf), Tulsi leaf and clove.