People work on the production line of a factory of Harbin Pharmaceutical Group in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, March 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)
BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The combination of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine has been a highlight of China's prevention and control of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a Chinese official told a press briefing Tuesday.
It was a significant guarantee for the current success the country has achieved in the epidemic control, as well as a Chinese strategy to share with the international community, according to Li Yu, an official with the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM).
The combination could be seen in a number of aspects of COVID-19 prevention and control, he said, such as in policies, with circulars on combining Chinese and Western medicines in COVID-19 treatment and control released by authorities including the National Health Commission (NHC), the NATCM and the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council.
A nurse prepares to treat a patient with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapies at a temporary hospital in Jiangxia District in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 25, 2020. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)
The documents further improved the consultation system based on the combination of the medicines, and facilitated the deep involvement of both TCM and Western medicine in COVID-19 control and treatment, Li said.
The diagnosis and treatment plan for the epidemic jointly issued by the NHC and the NATCM also integrated content of both TCM and Western medicine, and more content of TCM was added to the plan as treatment continued.
Moreover, both national and local medical treatment panels and medical teams for COVID-19 consist of personnel on both TCM and Western medicine, who took measures from their respective fields to cooperate together and jointly protect people's health, Li said. ■