TCM Treatment for COVID-19
TCM treatment for COVID-19 is under magnifying lens in China’s Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine due to the growing number of cases. Public health and safety are at risk because of a pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 has spread around the world. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) already has made important and long-lasting contributions to the fight against COVID-19. In addition, Western medicine has also played a big role. In this review, the most recent clinical effects and possible mechanisms of TCM treatment for COVID, which are shown in three new stages of the disease, are summarized and discussed. By combining clinical and preclinical evidence, the effects and mechanisms of TCM on COVID-19 are shown in a panoramic view. This includes the three Chinese patent medicines and three Chinese medicine formulas that are most commonly used. We hope that this detailed review will help health care professionals and the general public recognize the important role TCM played in COVID-19. It will also serve as an evidence-based summary and analysis to help people understand the true scientific value of TCM.
WHO looks into the role of TCM for COVID-19
Afterward, the Director-General of WHO had a high-level policy meeting with China’s National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM) in Geneva on January 17, 2022. WHO decided to set up a meeting of experts to look into the role of TCM in the treatment of COVID-19. From 28 February to 2 March 2022, an expert meeting on the use of traditional Chinese medicine to treat COVID-19 was held online.
The goals of the meeting were:
- To understand how the reports were made;
- to review and analyze the reports and randomized controlled trials of TCM in different stages of COVID-19 disease;
- to evaluate the contribution of a TCM integrated approach in the treatment of COVID-19; and
- to talk about how to better use traditional medicine in global pandemics.
It was a group of 21 international experts who came from six of the WHO regions. They were members of the WHO Expert Panel, representatives of WHO collaborating centers, members of the WHO International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicines, and members of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Technical staff from WHO headquarters, as well as regional and country offices, were also at the meeting.
There were three reports on TCM treatment for COVID-19 from national expert groups in China, and 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that had been registered and published as well. This meeting report explains how the experts talked and came to a consensus after looking at the reports.
[embeddoc url=”https://philaholisticclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/meeting-report-who-expert-meeting-on-evaluation-of-tcm-in-the-treatment-of-covid-192f7d2ba2-cfb8-4b00-90e3-441740cdbacb.pdf”]
The use of TCM products for COVID patients.
Traditional Chinese medicine products, such as acupuncture, herbal formulas, and flu pills, are being given to Shanghai residents in millions of boxes because they can treat COVID-19, which has killed more people than any virus in history.
There were more than 17,000 new cases of COVID-19 infections in China’s commercial capital on April 5, with 311 of them being symptomatic. There are more than 26 million people in the city. More: read more
Faced with the very spreadable Omicron variant, we should use TCM treatment as soon as possible, says Fang Min, who is in charge of the city’s Shuguang Hospital.
“Taking TCM treatment when the epidemic is bad is a good way to keep people from getting sick,” he said at a news conference on Tuesday, adding that more than 21 million people have been given these treatments.
Residents told Reuters that they had been given free boxes of over-the-counter flu medicine Lianhua Qingwen by neighborhood committees in the last few weeks. Others who got COVID said they took TCM medicine that was mixed with hot water.
TCM is used by about 98 percent of COVID-19 patients in Shanghai. Since the outbreak started in March, teams of TCM workers have spread out to hospitals and quarantine sites.
China’s health authority has approved some TCM drugs and ingredients for use by COVID-19 patients, such as Lianhua Qingwen. However, there isn’t enough reliable clinical data outside of China to use these drugs and ingredients.
People in Singapore, which has many people of Chinese descent, said in November that there was no scientific proof that any herbal product, including Lianhua Qingwen, could be used to prevent or treat COVID-19.
It told people to only use herbal products to treat symptoms like headaches, runny or blocked noses, sore throats, and coughs.
People who sell Lianhua Qingwen as a COVID-19 treatment were told by the Food and Drugs Administration in 2020 that they could no longer do so.
Officials in Shanghai’s district of Hongkou have given out 722,000 boxes of Lianhua Qingwen capsules, and they want to give all residents TCM medicines like herbs and tea bags to keep them healthy. The Shanghai Daily, which is owned by the local government, said this.
Yiling Pharmaceutical, the company that makes Lianhua Qingwen, says that a clinical trial in 2020 showed that it could, along with other treatments, help relieve COVID-19 symptoms like fever and cough. This is the same company that makes the drug.
China has approved a number of medicines to treat COVID patients, but it isn’t clear how often they are used. Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid and Brii Biosciences Ltd.’s antibody-based medicine are two of them.
TCM for COVID-19 in Philadelphia
The goal of this post is not to propose TCM treatment for COVID-19 instead of traditional western treatment and or vaccinations. Studies revealed positive responses from COVID patients that were treated with the products recommended by TCM treatment for COVID-19.
As a secondary approach to COVID management, consider using TCM for COVID-19 products and methods that would suspend cough, decrease body temperatures, and improve general condition.
For professional help in the use of TCM for COVID-19 contact Philadelphia Holistic Clinic and set an appointment with Dr. Tsan. At the clinic, licensed TCM practitioners will work with you and help you to overcome COVID symptoms and post-COVID consequences.