The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the important role of traditional Chinese medicine in preventing and treating COVID-19 and effective drugs.

On Monday, March 23rd, 2020, the State Council Press Office held a press conference in Wuhan, Hubei Province at 4pm, inviting Yu Yanhong, member of the Central Steering Group, member of the Party Committee of the Health and Wellness Committee and secretary of the Party Committee of the Bureau of Traditional Chinese Medicine, academician of China Academy of Engineering, Zhang Boli, president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huang Luqi, academician of China Academy of Engineering and president of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liu Qingquan, president of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Qiu Haibo, vice president of Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University, to introduce the important role and effective drugs of traditional Chinese medicine in preventing and treating COVID-19

The picture shows the press conference. (Source: Hubei Daily)

Yan Yanchun, deputy director of the State Council Information Bureau, presided over the press conference.

Good afternoon, journalists and friends! Today is the ninth release event held by the State Council Information Office in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The theme is the important role of traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. First, let’s get to know today’s publisher through a short film.

(Play short film)

Let me introduce today’s publishers, Ms. Yu Yanhong, member of the Central Steering Group, member of the Party Committee of the National Health and Wellness Commission and Party Secretary of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Academician of China Academy of Engineering, Professor Zhang Boli, President of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Academician of China Academy of Engineering, Researcher Huang Luqi, President of China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Professor Liu Qingquan, President of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Professor Qiu Haibo, Vice President of Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University.

Let’s invite Ms. Yu Yanhong to make an introduction.

The picture shows Yu Yanhong, member of the Central Steering Group, member of the Party Group of the National Health and Wellness Commission and Party Secretary of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. (Source: Hubei Daily)

Yu Yanhong, member of the Central Steering Group, member of the Party Group of the National Health and Wellness Commission and Party Secretary of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Good afternoon, journalists and friends! This is the third time that I have come to the press conference held by the State Council in Hubei. In the first two press conferences, I have made some introductions on the work and functions of traditional Chinese medicine. I want to thank the reporters and friends for their reports on relevant contents. Your recognition and affirmation are great encouragement for us to continue to do a good job in related work.

With the arrival of different stages of epidemic development, especially the current epidemic has entered a global pandemic period, what can the experience of Chinese medicine in China share for the world? Many media friends are very concerned.

Dear friends, when the COVID-19 epidemic poses a global threat, several experts and I are here today, looking forward to sharing with you the situation of Chinese medicine participating in the prevention, control and treatment of the epidemic through more dialogues and exchanges.

General Secretary of the Supreme Leader attached great importance to the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic, personally led, personally directed and personally deployed this struggle, and repeatedly stressed the need to adhere to the combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine and the use of traditional Chinese medicine. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core, we will implement the deployment of the Central Leading Group for Response to the Epidemic, and at the request of Premier Li Keqiang and Comrade Wang Huning, the Central Steering Group headed by Vice Premier Sun Chunlan will strongly promote the comprehensive intervention and deep participation of Chinese medicine in the treatment of COVID-19. In this epidemic prevention and control, Chinese medicine has mainly carried out the following work:

First, mobilize elite forces. More than 4,900 Chinese medicine personnel from all over the country rushed to Hubei, accounting for about 13% of the total number of medical staff assisting Hubei, including 3 academicians and hundreds of experts. The scale and strength of the Chinese medicine aid team is unprecedented.

Second, carry out treatment by classification. Early intervention of traditional Chinese medicine in mild treatment and recovery treatment, combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine in severe and critical cases, and corresponding treatment norms and technical schemes have been formulated. In the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan, many suspected patients were waiting for a definite diagnosis at the isolation point. We gave Chinese medicine decoction or Chinese patent medicine in time, which effectively eased the development of the disease and eased the pressure of medical resources shortage.

Third, screening effective prescriptions. To promote scientific and technological research, we have observed the clinical efficacy of Chinese patent medicines and prescriptions that have been included in the fifth, sixth and seventh editions of the diagnosis and treatment plan. At present, Jinhua Qinggan Granule, Lianhua Qingwen Capsule, Xuebijing Injection, Qingfei Detoxification Decoction, Huashi Detoxification Formula and Xuanfei Detoxification Formula have been screened out.

All walks of life believe that Chinese medicine has played an important role and has become a highlight of this epidemic prevention and control. I have a set of data here. Among the confirmed cases in COVID-19, 74,187 people used Chinese medicine, accounting for 91.5%, of which 61,449 people in Hubei Province used Chinese medicine, accounting for 90.6%. Clinical observation shows that the total effective rate of traditional Chinese medicine has reached more than 90%. Traditional Chinese medicine can effectively relieve symptoms, reduce the development from light to heavy, improve the cure rate, reduce the death rate, and promote the recovery of the convalescent population.

In the prevention and control of the epidemic in COVID-19, Chinese medicine practitioners took the stage at the first time, and they were kind-hearted and sincere, which condensed the forward momentum, showed their unique advantages and made important contributions.

Dear friends, Chinese medicine is a treasure of ancient science in China, and it is a holistic medicine that integrates prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. It has a long history and is well known to everyone. When encountering major epidemics, we will look for solutions from it. Sun Simiao’s Qian Jin Fang, Zhang Zhongjing’s Treatise on Febrile Diseases, Wu Youke’s Treatise on Epidemic Febrile Diseases, and Wu Jutong’s Treatise on Epidemic Febrile Diseases have systematically summarized the basic theory, clinical practice, prescription drugs and technical methods of traditional Chinese medicine in preventing and treating infectious diseases, and condensed the wisdom of the ancients in constantly exploring, thinking and summarizing the laws of epidemic prevention and treatment. Inspired by Ge Hong’s Elbow Emergency Prescription, researcher Tu Youyou discovered artemisinin, which saved millions of lives around the world and won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Chinese medicine also has a good effect in treating viral infectious diseases. In recent years, viral respiratory infectious diseases have been prevalent frequently, and Chinese medicine has also achieved remarkable results in treating SARS, H1N1 and other diseases, accumulating rich experience in dealing with new and sudden infectious diseases. Studies have confirmed that the overall regulation of traditional Chinese medicine can enhance human immunity and inhibit and kill viruses.

Dear friends, when there was no specific medicine or vaccine in the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic, we summarized the laws and experiences of treating viral infectious diseases with traditional Chinese medicine, deeply explored ancient classic prescriptions, and combined with clinical practice, formed a diagnosis and treatment plan of treating COVID-19 with traditional Chinese medicine and integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine, which became an important feature and advantage of China’s plan, and screened a number of effective prescriptions represented by "three medicines and three parties". This practice once again fully proves that the precious wealth left by the ancestors of traditional Chinese medicine has been tested time and again, and it is worth cherishing. It is still useful, effective and economical.

The epidemic has no national boundaries, and the virus is the common enemy of mankind. These valuable experiences and effective treatments we have accumulated are willing to be used for reference by all countries. As the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Mr. Tan Desai, said, the epidemic situation in China has been reversed, and the anti-epidemic measures in China have achieved remarkable results through practice, which is worth learning.

Here, with the platform of friends from the media, we would like to say that the Chinese medicine community in China is willing to further strengthen cooperation and exchanges with the international community, share experiences in epidemic prevention and treatment, and provide effective Chinese patent medicines, expert consultation and assistance within its capacity to countries and regions in need. Thank you all.

Attack Yan Chun:

Thanks to Ms. Yu Yanhong’s introduction, let’s enter the questioning session. Today’s questioning method is still through video connection. Please inform your news organization before asking questions. Please ask questions.

The picture shows Xi Yanchun, deputy director of the State Council Information Bureau, presiding over the press conference. (Source: Hubei Daily)

CGTN reporter from the general station:

In the process of fighting the epidemic in Wuhan, Chinese medicine treatment has been widely and effectively applied. I would like to ask Academician Zhang Boli, what important experience can you share with your international counterparts during your more than 50 days of treatment practice in Wuhan? Thank you.

The picture shows Zhang Boli, academician of China Academy of Engineering and president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. (Source: Hubei Daily)

Zhang Boli, Academician of China Academy of Engineering and President of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Thank you for your question. I arrived in Wuhan on January 27th, and it has been nearly two months now. When I first came to Wuhan, the epidemic situation was very serious, the hospital was full, and hundreds of people lined up in the fever clinic for hours without seeing the doctor. In particular, those who see a doctor and those who accompany the doctor are mixed together, which makes people worry. Now, after two months, what is the situation in Wuhan now? At present, the number of patients in the hospital has dropped from more than 60,000 to about 5,000, and the number of critically ill patients has dropped from 12,000 to about 1,800, especially three zeros have been achieved for five consecutive days, so this situation is improving. As the Italian poet Dante said, "Break through the dark night and see the stars all over the sky".

However, when I saw the epidemic in Europe and America recently, I was also very worried and empathetic, so I was very willing to share some of our experiences with my international counterparts. In the face of the chaotic epidemic situation in Wuhan, the Central Steering Group made decisive decisions, centralized isolation and classified management, and resolutely isolated patients with fever, observation, suspicion and close contact. The community organizations and citizens at the grassroots level in Wuhan were very helpful, and it took a few days to basically isolate the patients. But it is only half the battle to isolate and not give medicine. There is no effective medicine or vaccine, but we have Chinese medicine, so we distribute Chinese medicine decoction and Chinese patent medicine to patients. It didn’t go well at first. In 13 districts of Wuhan, we only distributed more than 3,000 on the first day. Two or three days later, everyone saw the curative effect of traditional Chinese medicine, and the fever and cough were reduced. They took the initiative to ask for medicine to drink, reaching more than 10,000 bags of medicine. Later, more and more medicines were distributed, with a total of more than 600,000 people. What is the effect? Suppressed the spread of the epidemic, I have a set of data to prove it. From early February to mid-February, more than 80% of COVID-19 patients were diagnosed from the four groups of people mentioned just now, and by mid-February, it dropped to 30%, and by the end of February, it dropped to single digits. Therefore, we said that centralized isolation and universal use of Chinese medicine prevented the spread of the epidemic, which was the basis for our victory.

The second experience is that the central government decided to collect all the things that should be treated, but there were not so many beds. At this time, the decision of the central steering group was classified management and scientific treatment. The severe cases were treated in designated hospitals and the mild cases were treated in shelter hospitals, and the management norms for light and ordinary treatment were introduced. However, the shelter hospital is different from ordinary hospitals, and hundreds of people are concentrated in one hall, so management is a big problem. In this case, Professor Liu Qingquan and I jointly proposed to the headquarters that Chinese medicine should enter the shelter, and at the same time, we established the shelter hospital of Chinese medicine, namely Jiangxia shelter hospital. In this hospital, we put service first and treatment second. How to serve? Because the cabin is too big and the temperature inside is relatively low, we guarantee hot beds, hot water and hot meals, as well as warm service. At the same time, we care about patients, communicate with them more, celebrate their birthdays, organize them to do exercises, select three cabin friends, and give enthusiastic treatment, so our doctor-patient relationship is very harmonious. After a few days, everyone feels that the cabin is not like a hospital, but like a big community and a big family, which is also beneficial to patients.

Our cabin is full of mild and ordinary patients. According to the report of the World Health Organization, the proportion of severe cases in COVID-19 is 13%, and that of critical cases is about 7%. Therefore, we say that we are treated in the shelter, and it is our goal that mild diseases do not turn into severe ones. Therefore, we have adopted the comprehensive treatment of traditional Chinese and western medicine, in addition to giving decoction or oral Chinese patent medicine, there are also comprehensive treatments such as massage, scraping and sticking. What is the effect of treatment? Take Jiangxia shelter as an example. None of the 564 patients in our shelter became severe. After we gained experience, we also promoted it to other cabins. More than 10,000 patients generally used Chinese medicine, and the weight transfer rate of each cabin was basically about 2% to 5%. It should be said that the comprehensive treatment of traditional Chinese medicine in the shelter has significantly reduced the proportion of mild illness to severe illness, which is the key to our victory.

We also have an experience, that is, severe treatment is the most important. For severe patients, we still emphasize western medicine as the mainstay, Chinese medicine as the cooperation, and the combination of Chinese and Western medicine. However, the cooperation of Chinese medicine is sometimes as heavy as four or two. Our Chinese medicine practitioners have participated in intensive care in Jinyintan Hospital, Hubei Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, and Thunder God Mountain hospital, and achieved very good results. Our experience is that traditional Chinese medicine injections should be used boldly and early. For example, Shengmai injection and Shenmai injection can stabilize the blood oxygen saturation of patients and improve the oxygenation level. For example, Tanreqing injection, Reduning injection and antibiotics have a synergistic effect, Xuebijing has a certain effect on restraining inflammatory storm and controlling the progress of the disease. Severe treatment, combination of Chinese and Western medicine and reducing the mortality rate are the core of our success.

Finally, the patient’s virus turned negative and was discharged from the hospital. He entered the isolation point for rehabilitation. In the rehabilitation stage, sometimes he was tired, coughed, and sometimes he was not in good spirits. The inflammation in his lungs was not completely absorbed, and his immune function was not completely restored. In this case, we adopt the method of combining traditional Chinese and western medicine, do some breathing exercises, and at the same time cooperate with comprehensive therapies such as acupuncture and massage of traditional Chinese medicine, which can improve symptoms, promote the absorption of lung inflammation, and have a positive effect on the protection of organ damage and the repair of immune function. Therefore, we say that the rehabilitation in the recovery period and the combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine give full play to their respective advantages, and we strive for a successful conclusion.

If the early intervention and full participation of Chinese medicine have played an important role in the treatment of COVID-19 epidemic, the course of COVID-19 is like a parabola, and our Chinese medicine has a better effect at both ends. Although we don’t have specific drugs, Chinese medicine has an effective plan. The combination of traditional Chinese and western medicine treatment is the highlight of our Chinese plan. At present, the epidemic situation in the world is more serious, and the epidemic situation knows no borders, while Chinese medicine loves no borders. We are very willing to share the above experiences with our colleagues. Thank you.

Reuters reporter:

Du Bin, a member of the high-level expert group of National Health Commission, said at the briefing last week that he hoped that Chinese medicine would use the evaluation method of western medicine to prove the effectiveness of Chinese medicine in treating Covid-19. What Chinese medicine treatment methods does the China government suggest for Covid-19? Is there any evidence that they are effective? Thank you.

The picture shows Qiu Haibo, vice president of Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University. (Source: Hubei Daily)

Qiu Haibo, Vice President of Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University:

Professor Du Bin and I are colleagues. We are also looking at severe and critical patients together, and we often discuss, diagnose, diagnose and treat problems, as well as the treatment of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine.

I am a western doctor and an ICU doctor myself. In fact, we are increasingly adopting internationally recognized evidence-based medicine methods to evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine. Today, we can also see that more and more traditional Chinese medicines, proprietary Chinese medicines and traditional Chinese medicine injections are using internationally recognized randomized controlled research methods to evaluate their efficacy. As we all know, Academician Wang Chen and Gao Runlin took the lead in adopting a strict randomized controlled study to evaluate the Chinese patent medicines Jinhua Qinggan Capsule and Qiliqiangxin Capsule, respectively, for the treatment of influenza A (H1N1) and chronic heart failure, respectively, with a sample size of 410 to 526 cases, and adopted a randomized controlled method, and observed that these drugs were compared with the conventional treatment on the basis of standard treatment or conventional treatment. We can see that Jinhua Qinggan capsule can obviously shorten the fever time of influenza patients, while Qiliqiangxin capsule can obviously improve the heart function of chronic heart failure, and these studies have also been published internationally.

In addition, this time, the special emphasis is on Xuebijing of traditional Chinese medicine injection, because today, including several academicians and professors present here, are also doing some clinical research, all of which are conducted by internationally recognized evidence-based medicine methods. As for the evaluation of the curative effect of traditional Chinese medicine, in fact, we know that traditional Chinese medicine attaches great importance to syndrome differentiation and individualization, but now we also realize that we are increasingly using internationally recognized evidence-based medicine methods to evaluate its curative effect.

In fact, Chinese medicine has been added to the treatment of severe and critical patients in COVID-19 for a long time. From the current clinical observation, there are several aspects in the treatment of severe and critical patients: first, it reduces the transformation from mild and ordinary patients to severe, second, it reduces the transformation from severe to critical, third, it treats severe and critical patients, and fourth, it recovers them. In these aspects, Chinese medicine has played a very important role. It should be said that Chinese medicine has seen the curative effect in the process of transformation from ordinary to severe, and has played a certain role in severe treatment, which plays a very important role in rehabilitation treatment.

In fact, Chinese medicine and western medicine are obviously different in treatment mode. From the perspective of western medicine, most chemical drugs are single-target, while Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine are more multi-target. In other words, Chinese medicine is more like a team fighting, and this treatment mode is different between Chinese and western medicine. But for diseases, there are many points that can be intervened in the process of disease occurrence and development. Just like this time in COVID-19, the virus led to the imbalance of inflammation and immunity, which further led to the damage of organ function, lung, heart and other organs. That is to say, the organ damage caused by virus, inflammation and abnormal immunity is the target. Western medicine is a chemical drug, which is often treated for a certain target, while Chinese medicine may be a multi-target treatment here, such as the replication of virus, the regulation of inflammation and immunity, and the subsequent organ damage and coagulation. Here I take Xuebijing injection as an example. Xuebijing injection is a Chinese medicine injection that has been studied clearly in recent years. Its chemical composition has been studied by Shanghai Institute of Pharmacology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and at least six effective components have been proved. Moreover, in vitro experiments also proved that Xuebijing injection actually inhibited the replication of Covid-19. In the related animal experimental research, it is also noted that Xuebijing injection has a containment effect on inflammatory storm, that is, inflammatory reaction and coagulation dysfunction. Therefore, this time we choose traditional Chinese medicine injection to treat severe and critical patients.It is proved in the previous clinical research that Xuebijing is effective in severe pneumonia. As we know, there are no specific drugs in COVID-19, so will such drugs have a therapeutic effect on COVID-19? First of all, we can see that it has achieved recognized results in the treatment of severe pneumonia and sepsis. For example, the research of Professor Bai Chunxue of Fudan University, including the randomized controlled trial of "Xuebijing and placebo in the treatment of severe pneumonia" completed by 33 hospitals, shows that Xuebijing combined with routine treatment can significantly reduce the 28-day death rate of patients with severe pneumonia, which can be reduced by 8.8%, and can obviously make pneumonia ooze and absorb faster, shorten the time of instrument ventilation and shorten the length of hospitalization. In the research of sepsis that has just been uncovered, Xuebijing injection has also proved that it can reduce the mortality rate of sepsis. It is precisely because Xuebijing has seen the curative effect in the study of early severe pneumonia and sepsis, so we are also observing whether it is effective in the treatment of severe and critical patients in COVID-19. We noticed that Xuebijing, as a multi-target therapeutic drug, was used in the treatment of severe and critical patients in COVID-19. We also noticed in the study that 156 cases of severe and critical patients participated in by 32 hospitals showed that the effective rate was relatively high after the basic treatment and Xuebijing injection. Of course, it needs a definite result after the study is completed. At least for now, treatment in COVID-19,Especially in the treatment of severe and critical patients, Xuebijing injection may be a very important therapeutic drug.

Of course, everyone is very concerned about the safety. In fact, we also noticed in the safety research of Xuebijing after its marketing that the negative effect of Xuebijing injection will probably not be higher than 1% of clinical use, so it is basically safe. I believe that Chinese medicine, as a multi-target treatment for COVID-19, combined with the current traditional treatment, will certainly save the lives of more severe and critical patients. Thank you.

Xinhua News Agency reporter:

According to the current research results, what are the effective traditional Chinese medicines for COVID-19? How is the curative effect determined? Thank you.

Zhang Boli:

Thank you for your question. Don’t panic when you have medicine in your hand. Every time after a major epidemic, good medicine will appear, so there is a saying that "a major epidemic will produce good medicine" and a batch of good medicine will be produced after a major epidemic. There is no specific drug or vaccine for coronavirus in this epidemic, so we pay attention to screening effective drugs from old drugs, just like our western counterparts, and at the same time, we have developed several new drugs and new prescriptions, which is what our secretary said just now. I will focus on Jinhua Qinggan Granule, Lianhua Qingwen Capsule and Xuebijing Injection, which have been well introduced by Professor Qiu just now.

Jinhua Qinggan Granule is a new drug for treating influenza, which was developed during the epidemic of H1N1 in 2009, and has been put on the market. This prescription is composed of Maxing Shigan Decoction in Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Yinqiao Powder in Treatise on Febrile Diseases. Maxing Shigan Decoction has a history of 1800 years, and Treatise on Epidemic Febrile Diseases has a history of nearly 300 years, so they have stood the test of long history and are effective prescriptions. Its main functions are dispersing wind, dispersing lung, clearing away heat and detoxicating. In the process of developing this prescription, Academician Wang Chen made a RCT (randomized controlled trial) study and published a paper in the American Yearbook of Internal Medicine, which proved that its curative effect in treating swine flu was equivalent to Tamiflu’s, but it had fewer side effects and was cheaper.

We also made a clinical controlled study of 102 cases in the first line of Wuhan this time. The results showed that Jinhua Qinggan Granule, compared with the control group, reduced the proportion of severe cases, shortened the fever-reducing time by 1.5 days, and significantly improved the white blood cell count, neutrophil count and lymphocyte count reflecting immune function. The results show that Jinhua Qinggan Granule has a definite curative effect, which can not only improve clinical symptoms, especially reduce the rate of weight loss, but also have an effect on immunological indexes.

Beijing You ‘an Hospital also made a clinical observation of 80 cases with this drug. The results showed that the time for nucleic acid to turn negative was shortened by 2.5 days, which made the time for patients to get better in pneumonia exudation and absorption two to three days earlier than that of the control group, and the values of white blood cells and lymphocytes also increased significantly. Therefore, this medicine is an effective medicine for treating COVID-19, which is widely used in clinic.

The second medicine is Lianhua Qingwen, which is a prescription developed by Academician Wu Yiling, and also a prescription developed during the treatment of SARS. Its main functions are clearing away pestilence, detoxicating, dispersing lung qi and expelling heat, and it has definite curative effect on treating patients with mild and ordinary COVID-19. At present, it has provided 100,000 boxes of aid to Italy. I recently heard that Italy will add another batch of 100,000 boxes to support the fight against the epidemic.

A RCT study, which was jointly directed by Academician Zhong Nanshan, Academician Li Lanjuan and me and participated by 23 hospitals in 9 provinces and cities in China, included 284 patients with COVID-19. The results showed that the disappearance rate of main clinical symptoms and the duration of clinical symptoms in the treatment group were better than those in the control group, and the improvement of lung imaging reached 83.8%, while that in the control group was 64.1%. The clinical cure rate reached 78.9%, while that of the control group was 66.2%, and the treatment group was obviously superior to the control group. In the aspect of turning mild symptoms into severe ones, the treatment group decreased by 50% compared with the control group.

At the same time, in the recently completed in vitro experiment, it is also proved that Lianhua Qingwen has an inhibitory effect on Covid-19 in vitro. These two drugs can be treated, how to distinguish them clinically? Fever is light, headache is heavy, fever is heavy, and dry stool is clean with lotus, so it can be used differently in clinic. Thank you all.

NBC reporter:

It is reported that China sent medical supplies to Italy and sent a medical team including Chinese medicine. Many people think that Chinese medicine is not scientific. Are you worried that western patients are not ready to receive Chinese medicine? Thank you.

The picture shows Huang Luqi, academician of China Academy of Engineering and president of China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. (Source: Hubei Daily)

Huang Luqi, Academician of China Academy of Engineering and President of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Thank you for your question. I’m not worried. The reason for not worrying comes from confidence and practice. Although Chinese medicine and western medicine belong to two different medical systems and have different perspectives on health and disease, they are both based on the fact of clinical efficacy. Just now, based on the fact of clinical efficacy, our secretary Yu Yanhong gave an example in her opening remarks, that is, Tu Youyou, Tu Youyou and other China scientists discovered artemisinin, an antimalarial drug, and it was widely used. For this reason, Teacher Tu won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015. Based on the fact of clinical efficacy, Chinese medicine has now spread to 183 countries and regions. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, 103 Member States have approved the use of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine. For this reason, the 72nd World Health Assembly adopted the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases, which included the chapter of traditional medicine originated from traditional Chinese medicine for the first time.

I think, based on the fact of clinical efficacy, we just introduced the "three drugs and three parties" by Secretary Yu, and the three drugs introduced by Director Hai Bo and Teacher Zhang Boli. I think, based on the fact of clinical efficacy, I would like to introduce the "three parties" to you.

First of all, the first prescription is Qingfei Paidu Decoction, which is derived from Maxing Shigan Decoction, Shegan Mahuang Decoction, Xiaochaihu Decoction, Wuling Powder, etc. It is a general prescription of light, ordinary, heavy and critical type.

In 10 provinces (except Hubei province), 66 designated medical institutions have included 1263 confirmed patients, and 1214 cases have been cured and discharged, accounting for 96.12%. In the clinical observation of 57 cases of severe patients treated with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine and taking Qingfei Paidu decoction, 42 cases were cured and discharged, accounting for 73.7%, and none of them became critical. The contrast of lung imaging of patients showed that after taking Qingfei Paidu Decoction for two courses (6 days), the lung lesions of 53 patients (93%) showed different degrees of shrinkage and absorption.

According to the data of clinical research, Qingfei Paidu Decoction has played an active role in preventing light and ordinary types from turning into severe and critical types, blocking the deterioration of the disease, greatly reducing the mortality rate and weakening the harm of the epidemic.

The second prescription is Xuanfei Baidu Decoction, which is condensed on the basis of classic prescriptions such as Maxing Shigan Decoction, Maxing Yigan Decoction, Keli Jujube Xiefei Decoction and Qianjin Weijing Decoction. The contrast study between Xuanfei Baidu group (70 cases) and control group (50 cases) conducted in Wuhan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Hubei Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine shows that Xuanfei Baidu recipe has remarkable curative effect in controlling inflammation and improving lymphocyte count. Compared with the control group, the recovery of lymphocytes is improved by 17%, and the clinical cure rate can be improved by 22%.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine used this prescription to treat 40 cases of mild and ordinary patients, and the average time to turn negative was 9.66 days. None of them turned to severe or critical type, and the improvement rate of CT diagnosis was 85%.

In Wuhan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hubei Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine and Jiangxia Fangcang Hospital, a cohort study was conducted on 500 patients treated with this prescription. The results showed that the symptoms such as fever, cough and fatigue were obviously alleviated in light and ordinary patients, and the CT diagnosis also showed that it was significantly improved after treatment, and no case turned heavy.

The last prescription is the prescription of eliminating dampness and removing toxin, which is based on the prescription recommended by the national diagnosis and treatment plan and optimized by the medical team of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jinyintan Hospital in combination with clinical practice.

In Jinyintan Hospital, Dongxihu Fangcang Hospital and Jiangjunlu Street Health Center, the clinical efficacy of heavy, ordinary and light was observed. Seventy-five critically ill patients were enrolled in the clinical controlled trial in Jinyintan Hospital. The pulmonary inflammation and clinical symptoms diagnosed by CT were improved obviously, and the time of negative nucleic acid conversion and hospitalization time were shortened by 3 days on average. 124 cases of common type were treated in Jiangjun Road Street Health Center, and 894 cases of light and common type (452 cases in Chinese medicine group) were randomly observed in Dongxihu Fangcang Hospital, which confirmed the effectiveness of this prescription. We tracked the liver and kidney functions of patients taking Huashibaidu Granules and found no drug-related adverse reactions. In terms of experiment, it is found that this prescription can reduce the viral load of lung tissue by 30% through the evaluation of novel coronavirus’s mouse model.

Therefore, on March 18th, Huashi Baidu Granule has officially obtained the approval of clinical trials of drugs in National Medical Products Administration. The R&D process of traditional Chinese medicine is different from that of chemical medicine and biological medicine, and the formula of eliminating dampness and removing toxin originated from clinic. Therefore, the significance of obtaining clinical approval lies in the materialization of the theory and clinical efficacy of epidemic diseases in traditional Chinese medicine, and it also effectively transforms the scientific research data of traditional Chinese medicine with high-level clinical evidence.

After obtaining the clinical approval, many foreign friends asked us for medicine one after another. When we gave medicine to foreign friends, Huashi Baidu Granule was affectionately called "Q-14", where Q means CURE in English, and "14" means that this prescription is composed of 14 kinds of medicines, which leads to a saying that One for all, all for one. We are willing to fight side by side with the people of other countries to fight the epidemic and share the experience and achievements of Chinese medicine. Thank you.

Korea Jingxiang News Agency reporter:

It is understood that in SARS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, etc., Chinese medicine has also been included in the medical plan. Is the Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment plan for COVID-19 due to different places during the SARS period? If so, why did it change? Thank you.

The picture shows Liu Qingquan, president of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. (Source: Hubei Daily)

Liu Qingquan, Dean of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Thank you. Just now, Secretary Yu Yanhong, Teacher Zhang Boli and Dean Huang Lu Qi have all given different answers to your questions. Traditional Chinese medicine has been treating infectious diseases for thousands of years, and in this process, a relatively mature scientific law has been formed. The treatment of infectious diseases mainly focuses on three treatment methods, such as clearing away heat, eliminating dampness and detoxifying. Because the causes of various infectious diseases are different, these three treatments are different. In this process, our traditional Chinese medicine has produced a very famous classic prescription in thousands of years’ history. Just now, Academician Zhang Boli and Dean Huang Lu Qi have a good explanation, such as Maxing Shigan Decoction and Daqinglong Decoction by Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Qianjin Reed Stem Prescription by Sun Simiao, a famous doctor in the Tang Dynasty, Dayuan Drink by Wu Youke, a famous doctor in the Ming Dynasty, Yinqiao Powder and Zhengqi Powder by Wu Jutong, a famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty, and so on. The use of traditional Chinese medicine can quickly mobilize a country’s military security system, quickly drive away foreign enemies (viruses), and prevent the enemy from causing great damage to the country. Specifically, for example, the treatment of dampness actually boosted the morale of the military and civilians, that is, the improvement of immune function. Immunization, two Chinese characters, is a word with strong characteristics in traditional Chinese medicine. Immunization is to avoid epidemics. Detoxification is equivalent to giving the enemy a blow, that is, I can give the virus a blow, and I can give him a good blow. The method of clearing heat can change our internal environment, so that the virus has no place to hide and escape.Several treatments, each with its own emphasis, go hand in hand to win a virus war.

In recent 20 years, China has created many new prescriptions based on classic prescriptions in the process of dealing with new and sudden infectious diseases. For example, during SARS in 2003, as teacher Zhang Boli said just now, we introduced Lianhua Qingwen, a drug for treating viral infections. In 2009, during the response to the global H1N1 influenza, many academicians in China, such as Academician Wang Chen and Academician Huang Luqi, participated in the creation of Jinhua Qinggan Granule, which all showed the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine and its role in coping with contemporary infectious diseases.

In view of this new disease in COVID-19 this year, old drugs are used new. Clinical research shows that Jinhua Qinggan and Lianhua Qingwen have very exact curative effects in treating mild and common types of new coronary pneumonia, especially in Wuhan’s response to COVID-19.

Xuebijing injection has a good stage effect on the treatment of inflammatory storm and coagulation dysfunction. Dean Qiu Haibo gave a good introduction to Xuebijing just now, so I won’t go into details.

In the war epidemic in Wuhan, based on the "three methods" and classic prescriptions, very effective three parties were developed, such as Qingfei Detoxification Decoction, Damping Detoxification Recipe and Xuanfei Detoxification Recipe, which were truly innovative and therapeutic. Thank you.

Malaysian Star reporter:

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, what dietotherapy or methods can help people improve their immunity and enhance their cardiopulmonary function to fight this virus? Thank you.

Huang Luqi:

Thank you for your question. As far as I know, Chinese medicine is deeply loved in Malaysia, and everyone is familiar with Chinese medicine. To this end, to answer your question, I would like to quote two sentences from Huangdi Neijing, a classic of Chinese medicine:

The first sentence is "if you go to work, you will not get sick." Chinese medicine attaches great importance to the role of prevention, which plays an important role in this fight against the epidemic. For example, in Fangcang Hospital, at the request of Hubei Provincial Health and Health Commission, medical staff in Fangcang Hospital were provided with the same source of medicine and food. At present, there is no infection among medical staff in Fangcang Hospital.

The second sentence is "those who are not infected with each other, keep healthy qi inside, and evil spirits can be done, avoiding their poisonous gas." First of all, it is emphasized to improve the healthy qi of human body. We can use traditional Chinese medicine fitness methods such as Tai Ji Chuan and Baduanjin, and we can also choose traditional Chinese medicine products with the same origin of medicine and food. Medicated diet under the guidance of Chinese medicine theory is an effective way to enhance immunity, so as to achieve the role of "keeping healthy qi in the interior, and evil can not be done" in Chinese medicine. Secondly, it emphasizes "avoiding its poisonous gas", and home isolation is an effective method, and the living environment is disinfected as necessary.

In addition, Chinese medicine also emphasizes the role of emotion in improving healthy qi. Therefore, during the epidemic period, we should pay more attention to the combination of work and rest, so that the form and spirit can be reconciled and the spirit can be kept inside, so that evil can not be invaded. Thank you.

China News Service reporter:

At present, the number of patients in COVID-19 in Hubei and Wuhan is obviously reduced, and a considerable number of them are severe and critical patients. I would like to ask how to better play the role of traditional Chinese medicine for this part of patients? Thank you.

Liu Qingquan:

Thank you for your question. It should be said that it is very meaningful and an important topic. The treatment of critical illness is a very important link to further reduce the mortality rate. I am also a doctor in critical care medicine and an emergency doctor, but I study critical care medicine from the perspective of Chinese medicine. In the practice of clinical treatment in COVID-19 for nearly two months, I often communicate with Dean Qiu Haibo and Professor Du Bin during this process. It should be said that in the course of these two months, the treatment method of combining traditional Chinese and western medicine and the experience of reducing the death rate began to take shape gradually, especially the National Health and Wellness Commission and state administration of traditional chinese medicine set up an expert guidance group for the coordinated treatment of severe diseases with traditional Chinese and western medicine, and the coordinated treatment of traditional Chinese and western medicine was carried out. Western medicine’s life support technology, such as the use of ventilator, hemofiltration, ECMO and water-electrolyte balance, should be said to be a very important means for critical care. In this process, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), for example, uses drugs for clearing fu-organs, such as rhubarb, to reduce the dosage and time of sedative, analgesic and muscle relaxant drugs in view of the asynchronism between patients and ventilators. For example, drugs such as Shenmai injection, Shengmai injection and Dushen decoction have played a very good role in stabilizing circulation and oxygen saturation, and Xuebijing injection has been used to intervene and treat inflammatory storms.

In the process of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine rounds, we western medicine experts focus on completing the standardized treatment of treatment, such as the use of mechanical ventilation, the use of hemofiltration, what is the best time for tracheal intubation, etc. Chinese medicine mainly focuses on the above issues, promoting the use of Chinese medicine in the links of severe and critically ill patients, and organically combining Chinese and western medicine to make up for each other’s weaknesses, so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the death rate. These experiences are indispensable China experiences in treating critically ill patients in COVID-19 and reducing the mortality rate. It can also be said that they can be used by countries all over the world in the process of coping with the epidemic situation in the world, which will eventually further reduce the mortality rate of critically ill patients and further alleviate their illness. Thank you.

Bloomberg News reporter:

I would like to ask which countries China has given suggestions on the treatment of COVID-19 with Chinese medicine, and whether other countries have used Chinese medicine in their treatment? What’s the effect?

Yu Yanhong:

Thank you for your concern about international cooperation in traditional Chinese medicine. Public health crisis is a common challenge facing mankind, and unity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons. After the COVID-19 outbreak, many countries and people gave us selfless assistance in China. People from different countries shouted "Come on China" and "Come on Wuhan", which made us feel understanding, support and trust across borders. Now that the epidemic has broken out in many countries and places, China is willing to carry out international cooperation with countries in need to participate in the prevention and control of the epidemic with Chinese medicine and provide assistance within its capacity. At present, the following work has been carried out:

First, share the experience of treatment, actively cooperate with the World Health Organization in a timely manner, share the relevant information about Chinese medicine’s participation in epidemic prevention and control, translate the latest version of China’s COVID-19 Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment plan into English, publish the full text in the new media of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in official website, and actively share it with countries and regions in need. You can check these plans on our website at any time. It should be said that these schemes are the most valuable experience gained from the centralized management and treatment of tens of thousands of patients in a short time. It is really precious and the effect is very positive. We have also shared our experience with Japan, South Korea, Italy, Iran, Singapore and other countries through remote video communication. For example, Professor Zhang Boli, Professor Liu Qingquan and Dean Qiu Haibo who are present here have connected with the international community through video conferences several times. It seems that Teacher Zhang Boli also connected with the United States a few days ago. Yesterday, Academician Kobayashi also consulted with patients in Iran by video.

Second, we donate Chinese medicine products. Relevant organizations and institutions in China have donated Chinese patent medicines, decoction pieces, acupuncture needles and other medicines and equipment to Italian, French and other countries and more than a dozen countries and regions in Hong Kong and Macao. Just now, our teacher Zhang Boli and Dean Huang Luqi introduced this aspect, so I won’t go into details.

Third, send Chinese medicine practitioners to support abroad. We are concerned that Chinese medicine experts have gone to Italy and Cambodia to fight the epidemic. As far as I know, Chinese medicine experts in China have been keeping close contact with relevant overseas experts, and the feedback they get shows that the effect is still very good.

Media friends, Chinese medicine is the strategy of "prevention before illness" and "prevention before illness" for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in the vivid practice of understanding life, explaining life and revealing life and death, which is worthy of our inheritance, development and utilization. Mr. Tu Youyou, the Nobel Prize winner in our country, once said that Chinese medicine is a great treasure and artemisinin is a gift from Chinese medicine to the world. I believe that Chinese medicine was, is and will remain an important weapon for human beings to fight against the epidemic. We are willing to join hands with other countries in the world to overcome the COVID-19 epidemic at an early date and jointly write a colorful chapter for promoting human health. thank you

Attack Yan Chun:

Ok, thanks again to several publishers. Today, both government officials and experts in the field of traditional Chinese medicine have retrograded to Wuhan, where they have been stuck for more than two months, from winter to spring. Academician Zhang Boli, in particular, is over 70 years old and we all admire him very much. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to them again.

Recently, the number of confirmed cases in Hubei has been continuously zero. Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core, with the full support of all parts of the country, and with the concerted efforts of the people of Hubei, especially Wuhan, we finally look forward to winter and spring, and cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Today, the weather in Wuhan is fine and sunny. I want to take this opportunity to wish Wuhan, Hubei and China better! Thank you again to several publishers, and thank you all. Today’s press conference is over.