Traditional Chinese cures battle for acceptance in COVID-19 fight

Herbal medicines being used on the coronavirus frontline, but mainly in China

20200508 TCM clinic in Beijing

Workers fill orders for prescriptions at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Beijing.  © AP

CK TAN, Nikkei staff writer

SHANGHAI -- Many Chinese people are using traditional medicines to help fight off the new coronavirus, but the ancient cures still face a test of international acceptance.

While laboratory-developed drugs such as Avigan and remdesivir are touted for their potential to fight the virus itself, traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, has been prescribed in China to relieve mild pneumonia symptoms in COVID-19 patients.

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