WHO has not approved any home remedy by an Indian student to cure COVID-19 - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 22, 2021
A message is being circulated on social media claiming that an ex-student of St. Xavier’s High School in Mumbai recently found a home remedy to cure the COVID-19. This post claims that this is the first home remedy that is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the message, this home remedy was prepared using a mixture of one teaspoon of pepper powder, two teaspoons of honey, and a little ginger juice. The post also states that this mixture can suppress the COVID-19 to 100% if it is consumed for five consecutive days. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: WHO approved a home remedy found by an ex-student of St. Xavier’s High School in Mumbai.
Fact:  There is no authentic information that proves an Indian student from St. Xavier’s High School in Mumbai, found a cure for the COVID-19 and that this cure was accepted by the WHO. Apart from vaccination, WHO has not approved any medicine or home remedy to cure COVID-19. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched to check if any Indian student from St. Xavier’s High School in Mumbai has found a cure for COVID-19, we could not find any news articles or any other credible source reporting the same. If WHO approves such a home remedy to cure COVID-19, several media outlets would have reported the same.
Regarding the cure mentioned in the post, many news reports mentioned that the mixture (Pepper powder + Honey + Ginger juice) is a good remedy for cold, cough, and to boost immunity. Those reports can be seen here, here, and here. But none of these reports claimed it as the remedy to cure COVID-19.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has debunked some myths that are being spread around COVID-19. One of the myths debunked by WHO states that including hot pepper powder (one of the ingredients mentioned in the post) in food cannot cure or prevent COVID-19.
As of 18 February 2021, WHO approved at least seven vaccines for COVID-19 across the world. Apart from vaccination, WHO has not approved any medicine to cure COVID-19. The Mythbusters section on the WHO website states that ‘To date, there is no specific medicine to prevent or treat the COVID-19′.
Earlier, when a similar message was shared with a narrative of WHO approving the home remedy by a Pondicherry university student, FACTLY published a fact-check article on it. It can be read here.
To sum it up, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not accepted any COVID-19 home remedy found by an Indian student.