TCM and COVID-19: China trials to test efficacy and safety of traditional herbal interventions
China announced in April it would be conducting clinical trials to assess the effectiveness and safety of combining traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and conventional Western antiviral medicine in the treatment of patients with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Yu Yanhong, deputy head of China's National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine under the National Health Commission, said more than 50,000 infected patients who received TCM treatment had recovered and were discharged.
In a recent briefing focusing on these TCM treatments, Yu said there were six TCM medicines and formulas involved, namely the herbal products jinhua qinggan granule, lianhua qingwen capsule, huashi baidu formula, and xuanfei baidu formula, along with xuebijing injection, lung cleansing and detoxifying decoction,.
She explained that TCM has shown to be fruitful in the fight against other infectious diseases like SARS and influenza, and help improve immunity and recovery. With the current lack of vaccines and medicines to prevent or treat infected coronavirus patients, the use of TCM is one method that merit exploration, she added.