As Hong Kong¡¯s outbreak became the deadliest in the world, among the aid Beijing sent to the financial hub were 1 million packets of honeysuckle, rhubarb root, sweet wormwood herb and other natural ingredients, all mixed according to principles of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Practitioners of the centuries-old medicinal system argue such herbal combinations can be just as effective as antiviral pills like Pfizer Inc.¡¯s Paxlovid.
¡°Unlike Western medicine that targets the virus itself, the way TCM works against COVID is to first effect change in the environment of our human body,¡± said Liu Qingquan, dean of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. ¡°Once the environment changes, the virus can no longer survive.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.