By Geoff D’Arcy, Lic. Ac., DOM

The coronavirus (COVID 19) was born in December 2019 into humans during the cold, damp winter of Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province, China. This nasty, newborn cousin of the SARS virus may develop into a fever (call your MD over 100.4 f), dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. While most cases result in mild symptoms, some can progress to pneumonia and multi-organ failure, leading to a case fatality rate of under 6% worldwide (4.7.20). ¹

Starting in central China a few months ago, this virus infected over 80,000 and killed over 4,000 Chinese. Worldwide infections as of (April 1 st ) are 1.3 million infected and a total worldwide fatality of over 78,000.² More than nine-in-ten people worldwide live in countries with travel restrictions and or lockdowns amid COVID-19.³ It is spreading around the world, causing quarantines, devastating economies, and causing general panic and distress.

This Coronavirus is preventable via the following strategies: tracking and limiting exposures, hand washing, and social distancing—but not preventable with a vaccine (yet). With testing in the USA and elsewhere slow to confirm the full extent of coronavirus infection, the treatment seems to be supportive, not curative. There is no specific antiviral treatment recommended for COVID-19, though experimental antivirals have been used. Patients with COVID-19 receive supportive care to help relieve symptoms. For severe cases, treatments include care to support vital organ functions.

Integration of Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine for Coronavirus

There was a massive mobilization of resources and an unprecedented response within the People’s Republic of China. This has involved huge testing programs, mandated self and hospital quarantine, closure of businesses, factories, and provinces—even the construction of entirely new hospitals within just weeks. Supportive to conventional medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is playing a major role in this effort to treat COVID-9 infection.

The Chinese have utilized TCM for every major infectious epidemic and pandemic for over 2,000 years. The ancient book of TCM Huang Di Nei Jing (Inner Canon of Huangdi) was written approximately 99 BCE-26 BCE; the text recorded a plague that could transmit disease from human-to-human with symptoms that were like those described for COVID-19. Other texts hundreds of years later, recorded therapies and formulas that were effective at treating infectious diseases.

Currently, the use of TCM has resulted in remarkable improvement and alleviation of symptoms in COVID-19 patients in China. Chinese herbal medicine has studied, developed, and refined formulas from a massive experiential body of knowledge during each epidemic; and the coronavirus (COVID-19) is no different.

Xu Nanping, a vice-minister of science and technology for the People’s Republic of China, said last week that “about 85 per cent of patients in China had been given the combined treatment” of TCM and Western drugs, as reported by the South China Morning Post.⁴

SupChina, an independent digital media company, also reported:

In a treatment plan released by the National Health Commission in early February, TCM therapies were highly recommended by China’s health authorities as an effective tool to mitigate patients’ symptoms of fever and breathing difficulties. According to Liú Qīngquán the director of the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospitals and a member of the team dispatched to Wuhan, TCM had been used in roughly 9,600 COVID-19 cases across the country as of February 10. Outside Hubei, the province hit hardest by the epidemic, about 90% of the patients took TCM remedies at some point and received positive results. ‘After analyzing case reports from different areas, we have reached a conclusion that TCM is able to prevent mild cases from getting worse,’ Liu said.⁵

According to Xinhua, the biggest and most influential media organization in China, “’Western medicine offers important life-supporting measures such as respiratory and circulatory assistance, while TCM focuses on improving patients’ physical conditions and immune function. They complement each other,’” said Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.”⁶

Recently Wuhan’s coronavirus control headquarters ordered integrated treatment of TCM and Western medicine, especially among non-critical patients, and observation of TCM’s curative effects at designated hospitals. Statistics show that 2,220 medics from TCM hospitals and institutions across China have been sent to aid the epidemic fight in Hubei so far. Over 75 percent of COVID-19 patients are receiving TCM treatment in Hubei and over 90 percent in other parts of China.⁷

The main herbal formulas that has been preferred and used by the TCM doctors might surprise you. Please see the list from the lessons learned in Wuhan for condition progression and matching the most effective herbal formulas for that stage. Please call a licensed TCM herbalist to know when to match the condition with these formulas.⁸

TCM Protection Formulas

Following the infections in Wuhan, the Chinese promoted prevention programs recommending Chinese medicine for prevention after a review of literature, “Can Chinese Medicine Be Used for Prevention of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)?” The main principles of TCM use were to tonify energy (qi) to protect from external pathogens, disperse wind and discharge heat, and resolve dampness. The following herbs are identified as being helpful⁹ :
 Radix astragali (Huangqi),
 Radix saposhnikoviae (Fangfeng),
 Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (Baizhu),
 Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (Jinyinhua),
 Fructus forsythia (Lianqiao),
 Radix glycyrrhizae (Gancao).

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