The State Council inter-agency task force for COVID-19 response called for efforts to leverage the strength of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in COVID-19 treatment and emphasized the integration of TCM and Western medicine, according to a new circular issued on January 4.
Jiangsu Province has given full play to the advantages of TCM in treating COVID-19 patients at all stages.
Fang Zhuyuan, Party chief of Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, said the hospital has rolled out four prescriptions specially for prevention, mild case, fever and rehabilitation purposes based on previous experiences and the province's climate, demographic characteristics and symptoms of the infection.
Fang said that the antipyretic solution is very effective in reducing fever for patients with severe conditions such as high fever, pain and dry cough. The rehabilitation prescription also helps patients who experienced weakness, tiredness and sweats after getting the infection.
With 150 production bases of genuine medicinal materials in 24 provinces, the hospital currently uses about 30 tons of herbs on average every day and offers rehabilitation prescriptions for more than 500 people.
(Photo/Wang Yuemou)
At the Tiexinqiao Community Health Service Center in Nanjing's Yuhuatai District, doctor Fan Yuanyuan said there are herbal sachets, herbal tea and TCM decoction to choose from as well as other supplies specially for elderly people or patients with chronic diseases.
The hospital received 200-300 outpatients with respiratory diseases per day and the main symptoms are chest tightness, fatigue and coughing, according to Fan. She added that each patient gets a tailored treatment according to their health conditions.
Nanjing Hospital of TCM opened a new clinic on December 28 to help people who still have persistent low-grade fever and tiredness after becoming negative for one or two weeks.
Zhang Yanliang, director of the hospital's infection department, said the clinic receives 80-100 patients every day. After undergoing regular medical tests, patients can get personalized suggestions on medicine, diet and workout to recover physically and mentally as soon as possible.
