with the end of “zero-Covid”, a rush on traditional medicine and peaches in syrup

Article made with Louise May

” what do you want ? asks a nurse with rosy cheeks from the cold.

The eyes circled above the mask, the pout a little jaded, the latter probably already knows the answer. ” Lianhua Qingwen! “, launch, as one man, the customers who wait in single file in front of the counter of this small pharmacy, located two streets from the Chaoyang hospital, in Beijing.

Each time, the same cry from the heart. Almost every time, the hands of pharmacists open to the sky: ” Sorry, there are no more! »

Rhubarb, apricot kernels and honeysuckle

“ The end of zero-Covid in China is a boon for traditional medicine », relief France 24. The surge in demand, and especially in prices, is actually true for most antipyretic and painkiller drugs.

In Shanghai, Ibuprofen trades for up to 40 euros per 150 grams, netizens report. What applies to Western pills also applies to Chinese medicine decoctions.

State-sponsored Lianhua Qingwen (LHQW), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment for influenza, is one of the must-see stars of the epidemic era. Distributed in quarantine “hospitals” for asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients, this compound made from rhubarb, apricot kernel, honeysuckle and ephedra is snapping up in pharmacies and online stores.

In Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province around Beijing, a wholesaler says he has been selling up to 400,000 boxes a day recently. The price of the drug soared by 240%, says Sina Newswhile there are other formulas with the objective of eliminating heat (inflammation), toxins and improving pulmonary ventilation.

During the Shanghai lockdown last spring, about 20 treatments entered the list of fever clinics and the utilization rate of TCM remedies was 98%, knowing that the vast majority of positive people had few symptoms.

“Everyone is responsible for their own health”

After three years of a “zero-Covid” policy aimed at plugging the slightest breaches that could let the virus escape, the floodgates are now wide open. ” Everyone is responsible for their health “says the new slogan rehashed by the official media.

The authorities hope to contain the wave to 10% of infected residents, but some estimates already speak of more than 13% in the space of less than a week. A 180° change when until the XXᵉ Congress of the CPC in October, the Chinese health authorities promised never to “ lie down ” in the face of the epidemic, in other words ” living with the virus as other “zero-Covid” countries, such as South Korea, Taiwan and Australia, did in the fall of 2021.

Once the Chinese president is reappointed, after the demonstrations against this ultra-strict health strategy, the call of the business world for a change of course, the communist power therefore finally decided to abandon its “whatever the cost” of the economy.

Impossible to replay the scenario of the blockade of Shanghai in Beijing. Result: the first Covid wave emptied the streets of the capital, reminiscent of scenes from the winter of 2020. Amazement at the number of infected people around him, but above all many sick people and therefore the impossibility for businesses to operate normally . Back to working from home, shops closing: here the waiters in a café have a fever, there the cook in a restaurant has been called in sick, further on the vegetable seller finds that Omicron is more stronger than the flu, finally the army of delivery men was partly dispersed by viral pneumonia.

Online consultations

The Omicron tsunami is also about these mountains of abandoned parcels, these uncollected trash cans in certain streets of the Chinese capital. They are above all distraught inhabitants in a city, temporarily even more closed than under the “zero-Covid” confinements. Even the nursing staff are affected, while the patients are flocking. Some 22,000 people are hospitalized every day, said Tuesday china central tvwith idling hospitals and the proliferation of online consultations.

” The level of contamination is so high that we are recommended to block the sink pipes, to close the toilet seat to avoid the transmission of the virus via the pipes, explains a Chinese teacher. And our residence committee asked us not to call them again, except in an emergency. There is a shortage of drugs. Everyone has to fend for themselves, we drink a lot of hot water. »

Those who anticipated the wave, or had good connections, stocked up on traditional herbal treatments, including the famous blue and white boxes of the Lianhua Qingwen. The action of the Yiling Pharmaceutical laboratories which manufacture them has soared: more than 45% in one month, according to South China Morning Post. A boom in sales of state-recommended treatments sparks controversy.

Controversy over TCM in the face of Covid

The relaxation of controls and prevention of the epidemic indeed revives the debate on the promotion by the government of traditional Chinese medicine. ” TCM treatments do not prevent contracting Covid-19 “, declared this summer Zhong Nanshan, in remarks reported by the South China Morning Post. The pulmonologist who discovered SARS-CoV-1 and “Chinese tsar” of the fight against SARS-CoV-2 was himself suspected of having promoted Covid-19 remedies included in the official treatment in Beijing, and this without disclose its links with manufacturers, affirms the FinancialTimes. A step aside for the hero of the fight against Covid and regrets on the part of some of the promoters of these treatments.

The only study on how Lianhua Qingwen manages to reduce Covid symptoms is controversial. The medical journal Phytomedicine had to apologize after discovering that one of the co-authors was the son-in-law of the founder of the pharmaceutical company manufacturing LHQW, underlines the wall street journal in his investigation. Renowned biologist Rao Yi, who contracted the disease last week, wrote to a reporter on WeChat advising him against herbal remedies like Lianhua Qingwen promoted by the State to defeat the Covid. ” Can’t tell if they really think this stuff can cure Covid, or if it’s just nationalism asks historian Taizu Zhang on Twitter.

Peaches in syrup and “magical medicine”

More generally, faced with the outbreak of contaminations and the risk that, for the first time, China will find itself with a surge in deaths linked to serious forms of pulmonary pneumonia, the experts invite people to be wary of “magic medicine” and old-fashioned remedies. The latest raid on grocery shelves in Beijing concerns peaches in syrup. Nicknamed the “king of canned fruits” by advertisers, the product is again out of stock and displayed like a trophy on social networks.

” I come from Dongbei (northeast China) and those who know, will understand why I have these preserves “, says a young Internet user.

The recipe comes from the cold plains of the north of the country where nothing grows in winter. Several generations have tasted these fruits. cold and sweet which bring smiles when you have a cold or are feverish, say the local traditions. Peach in Mandarin sounds like the word “escape”, leading to the idea that eating these fruits will help you escape disease, note it South China Morning Post. Rumors about the so-called Covid benefits of fruit in jars have sparked a buying frenzy across the country. And the scientists had to pull out the oars again: eat peaches, because they are full of vitamin C, but be careful not to confuse them with medicine. Advice spun with humor by some Internet users who in the comments confirm that canned yellow peaches have no medicinal effect, but on the other hand they have many ” magical powers “.