China Promotes Traditional Remedies Amid The COVID-19 Outbreak
No Supportive Evidence Suggests The Credibility Of These Herbal Medications
As hundreds of scientists are researching for a vaccine for coronavirus pandemic, China is working its ways towards their traditional medications to treat coronavirus infection. The chine government claims that about 92% of their total confirmed coronavirus cases were treated by the use of the medications that are made traditionally in China for the last several decades. China promotes traditional remedies that include multiple forms of medical practice.
The traditional Chinese medicine is one of the oldest forms of medical practice in the world. This range includes Tai Chi, acupuncture technique, and herbal brews. China promotes traditional remedies to treat coronavirus in their country, which has been commonly used for numerous diseases across multiple generations. To combat the growing issue of coronavirus pandemic, China is to try to spread its concept on herbal medications; the healthcare officials remain doubtful about its usefulness in the current scenario.
Inconclusive effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine
The National Health Commission of China has a separate special chapter on the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine to combat coronavirus outbreak, while the national media of China promotes traditional remedies by stating its alleged effectiveness in multiple diseases since the SARS outbreak in 2003.
For the treatment of coronavirus, six different traditional remedies have been advertised, two of which contains a special blend of 13 different types of herbs. China promotes traditional remedies of several types, out of which one was developed in 2009 to fight against H1N1 outbreak. This special type of concoction contains 12 types of components, some of which are easily available.
Even though the supporters of traditional Chinese medicine argue that there are no listed side effects for suing these herbal products to treat diseases, there is no proper clinical evidence that supports these claims. China promotes traditional remedies for treating coronavirus, but according to healthcare authorities, these herbal brews would require multiple testing before they are deemed fit and safe for mass consumption.
According to the United States National Institute of Health, the traditional Chinese medication could help relieve some of the symptoms associated with coronavirus, but there is no evidence that suggests that usage of these traditional medications would help completely treat coronavirus because there is no hard evidence that might suggest the overall effectiveness of traditional medication used in China for generations, mass consumption of these herbal products could become dangerous and life-threatening.
As China promotes traditional remedies inside and outside of their country, there has been a rapid escalation in demand for traditional Chinese herbal medications internationally. According to the recent estimation of the traditional Chinese medication industry, the net worth could increase to $420 billion by the end of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Soft level power play by China
Even after China promotes traditional remedies persistently in the international market, there are millions of people who are still unaware of this alleged treatment. According to the critics, this is a desperate attempt by China to promote their country’s traditional medicine, but this allegation has been denied on national television.
As China promotes traditional remedies to treat coronavirus, they have been sending numerous supplies containing traditional Chinese medicine along with multiple practitioners to Africa, Europe, and Central Asia to help the general population of the region to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. This promotion to several countries provides a soft power push to China. This is the time when the western approaches have failed to provide an effective treatment for coronavirus; China is promoting their traditional medications that servers as a promotion towards Chinese dominance in the anti-COVID approach.
The international profile on traditional Chinese medicine has increased rapidly after it was formally recognized by the World Health Organization last year. This act was condemned by the international medical community.