China relies on traditional medicine to fight COVID surge in Shanghai

Brii Biosciences

06/04/2022 11:12

SHANGHAI, April 6 (Reuters) - Shanghai is distributing to
residents millions of boxes of traditional Chinese medicine
(TCM), such as herbal products and flu capsules, which it says
can treat COVID-19 in the battle to control its largest virus
outbreak.
    China's commercial capital, now under an extended lockdown,
reported more than 17,000 new COVID-19 infections on April 5,
including 311 symptomatic cases, among a population of more than
26 million.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2W4090 
    "Facing the extremely transmissible Omicron variant, we
should use TCM treatment as soon as possible," said Fang Min,
president of the city's Shuguang Hospital.
    "For general public, including high-risk groups, taking TCM
treatment when the epidemic is severe has good preventive
effect," he told a news briefing on Tuesday, adding that such
treatments for more than 21 million people had been handed out. 
    Several residents told Reuters they had received free boxes
of over-the-counter flu medicine Lianhua Qingwen from
neighbourhood committees in recent weeks. Others who caught
COVID said they got TCM medication to be dissolved in hot water.
    About 98% of Shanghai's COVID-19 patients are taking TCM
treatment, and teams of TCM workers have fanned out to
designated hospitals and quarantine sites since the latest
outbreak began in March, Fang said.
    China's health authority has recommended several TCM drugs
and ingredients, such as Lianhua Qingwen, for use by COVID-19
patients, although a lack of reliable clinical data limits their
use outside the country.
    Singapore, which has a large ethnic Chinese population, said
in November there was no scientific evidence from randomised
clinical trials that any herbal product, including Lianhua
Qingwen, could be used to prevent or treat COVID-19. 
    It advised the use of all herbal products formulated for
common cold and flu only to manage symptoms such as headaches,
runny or blocked noses, sore throats and coughs.
    In 2020, the U.S. regulator the Food and Drugs
Administration, warned vendors of Lianhua Qingwen to stop
selling it as a COVID-19 treatment.
    Officials in Shanghai's district of Hongkou have distributed
722,000 boxes of Lianhua Qingwen capsules, and aim to give all
residents preventive TCM medicines such as herbs and tea bags,
said the Shanghai Daily, which is owned by the local government.
    Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical  002603.SZ , the maker of
Lianhua Qingwen, has said a 2020 clinical trial showed that it
could, along with conventional therapy, relieve COVID-19
symptoms such as fever and cough.
    China approved several treatments including Pfizer Inc's
 PFE.N  Paxlovid and Brii Biosciences Ltd's  2137.HK 
antibody-based medicine to treat COVID patients, but it is not
clear how widely they are used.

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COVID-19 Vaccine rollout:    https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/vaccination-rollout-and-access/
FACTBOX-Latest on global spread of coronavirus     
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FACTBOX-Worldwide coronavirus deaths exceed 4.5 mln    
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 (Reporting by Brenda Goh and Roxanne Liu; Writing by Miyoung
Kim and Clarence Fernandez)
 ((miyoung.kim@thomsonreuters.com; 65 6870 3026; Reuters
Messaging: miyoung.kim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))