The Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Service Institute, along with the Philippine Archipelago International Trading Corporation, presented a webinar featuring prominent figures in Traditional Chinese Medicine. They were instrumental in the pandemic management in China, which included the Lianhua Qingwen Capsule.
An Enlightening Webinar
The webinar, entitled “Learning from the China Experience – Control and Surge Prevention”, featured prominent Chinese medical figures. These were:
- Academician Zhang Boli — Honorary President of the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and recipient of the national honorary title of People’s Hero in August 2020
- Dr. Jia Zhenhua, Chief Physician of TCM, Doctoral Supervisor and President of Hebei Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine
On the Philippine side of the virtual event, guests were able to listen to talks from two of the most important figures in our fight against COVID-19. These are National Task Force Deputy Chief Implementor and Testing Czar Secretary Vince Dizon and NTF Contact Tracing Czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
Special Guest Speaker
The program started with a few words from the Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary, Hon. Teodoro Locsin, Jr. During this address he thanked the co-presenters, the Chinese diplomatic core, and the distinguished guests and speakers. He also set the stage for our current COVID-19 situation, stating over 4 Million deaths and 186 Million infections and counting globally. “This webinar highlights knowledge sharing as one of if not the most essential form of cooperation in managing COVID-19. The slogan is: No one is safe unless everyone is safe,” he said.
The Case of Baguio City
Mayor Benjamin Magalong discussed the case study of Baguio City and how it navigated through the pandemic. He talked about how proactive contact tracing and control efforts enabled them to control spreads, something he likened to a Hammer and Dance situation.
More importantly, he discussed the importance of the PDITR strategy, which is Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, and Reintegrate strategy. This strategy simply cuts off the transmission chain of the Covid-19 virus.
He added that the public’s cooperation is vital to the efficacy of all preventive and control efforts, not only to Baguio City. The implementation of a top-down, side-to-side, and bottom-up approach basically ensures that the paramount objective of having proper communication and information dissemination in the entire community is met. Towards the end of his presentation, Mayor Magalong touched on the city’s Recovery and Resiliency Plan as well as its goal of becoming a Smart City by 2022.
About the National Vaccination Program
Secretary Vince Dizon reported on the National Vaccination Program, thanking the Chinese foreign service representatives for their continuous supplies of Chinese vaccines. To date, they are still the country’s largest supplier of COVID-19 Vaccines. The Philippines has procured 11 million doses from them, plus another 1 million doses have been donated.
He had also thanked Philippine Archipelago International Trading Corporation President, Olivia Limpe-Aw, as EUA Holder of Sputnik V Vaccines, for the continuous supply of the vaccine.
Lianhua Qingwen Capsule: Utilizing Traditional Chinese Medication in the Treatment of Respiratory Infectious Diseases in China
Dr. Jia Zhenhua discussed the utilization of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the prevention and treatment of respiratory infectious disease in China.
During his talk, he broke down COVID-19 based on Collateral Disease Theory and discussed how this is treated through the approach of Traditional Chinese medicine. One treatment of note that was mentioned was the Lianhua Qingwen capsule, which is already widely used and distributed in major drugstores in the Philippines.
Academician Zhang Boli, one of the most prominent figures in China’s fight against COVID-19 begins his presentation explaining why COVID, to him, is considered the “Plague of the Century.”
He expounded by showing data-driven effects and evolution of the virus. After his brief introduction on the effects and symptoms of Covid in China, he stressed how preventive measures were executed. He discussed the importance of early intervention to reduce severe conversion rate and the integration of Chinese and Western medicine with comprehensive rehabilitation treatment, such as breathing training, physical therapy, Taichi etc., and psycho-therapy to prevent after-effects of the Covid-19 infection.
He had also introduced Xuanfei Baidu Decoction, another traditional Chinese medicine widely used in China’s fight against COVID-19. He had earlier stressed the importance of medication. “Quarantine without medicine is only half the success,” he said through an interpreter. Academician Zhang shared how they shared this knowledge with the world through donations of traditional Chinese medicine, Lianhua Qingwen capsule, to different countries. Exchange of knowledge (like this webinar) was also done in other countries.
Staying Safe in this Pandemic
Vaccination is very important but even when vaccinated, experts agreed that we should not forget the usual daily personal and household prevention measures. We should also employ emotional management – staying positive, avoid anxiety, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Philippine Archipelago International Trading Corporation President, Olivia Limpe-Aw, drew the conclusion that there are definitely similarities in terms of experiences, government policies, and values of both countries. In fact, significant learnings gathered from all panelists cover:
- early intervention
- quarantine with medication
- integration of Chinese and western medicine
- rehabilitation treatment
All these will help to increase the curative rate and reduce mortality among Covid-19 patients.
Learning that there are two other TCM to treat COVID-19 aside from Lianhua Qingwen capsule is something new to us so it has expanded our knowledge. Moreover, that there are other options that we hope will be available in the Philippines in the next few months since it looks like COVID-19 isn’t going to be over soon. We will have to manage the situation so we can all move on and bring back normalcy to our lives.
Very interesting and informative.
I did appreciate all it was stated for me able to surpass this pandemic with the whole family.