Last Updated on August 18, 2021 by Team THIP
Quick Take
A few social media users and news reports claim that NIN “National Institute of Nutrition” and Ministry of AYUSH had approved N.I.C.E protocols developed by Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury. We Fact-Checked and found it false.
The Claim
Following a news report by news agency PTI, several media platforms reported “NIN & AYUSH Ministry recommends N.I.C.E protocol for COVID treatment” on 23rd and 24th July. The reports claimed that N.I.C.E or Network of Influenza Care Experts, established by Dr. Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury has been approved by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and the Ministry of AYUSH for Covid treatment. The reports such stories can be seen here, here, and here.
A snapshot is given below.
Fact Check
Who is ‘Doctor’ Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury?
Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury is a person known for his multiple conspiracy theories about various diseases and treatments. He uses the term ‘Doctor’ but apparently doesn’t hold a medical degree. The personal website of Dr. Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury mentions that he is a ‘medical nutritionist’ and has a ‘Ph.D in diabetes from AIU, Zambia.’
The Wikipedia page of Roy Chowdhury mentions, “He reportedly received a bogus honorary PhD in “diabetes science” from Alliance International University in Zambia, which is not accredited.”
Roy Chowdhury was in the middle of a number of controversies in the recent past including getting blocked from social media platforms and complaints filed against him by a number of Indian authorities due to his fake claims about curing various diseases.
What is N.I.C.E or Network of Influenza Care Experts?
N.I.C.E protocol is a treatment formulated by Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury for the treatment of Covid patients. Roy Chowdhury claims that the process which doesn’t involve any medication but only treatment using coconut water and citrus foods can cure a mil to severe Covid patient in 7 days.
Did NIN and Ministry of AYUSH approve N.I.C.E protocol?
NO. The Ministry of AYUSH had clearly refuted the claim via a press release issued on 28th July, 2021.
Quoting ministry reports on the issue, PTI reports said, “NICE has done a very unethical, illegal, and baseless act in claiming to have developed an AYUSH Ministry-approved naturopathy-based protocol for COVID-19 treatment. Equally serious is its act of using the name of the ministry without the ministry’s explicit permission.”.
Notably, the original PTI article did not include any reference from the ministry sources and was a press release replication from a PR distribution website. Till the time of publishing this report, the fake claim still continues to exist on multiple news platforms including Express Healthcare and Yahoo.
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