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Balancing Act: China Approves Antiviral For Coronavirus While Promoting Traditional Medicines

Authorities Mix Old And New

 
• By Brian Yang

Amid the ongoing spread of the coronavirus outbreak, China turns to novel and repurposed antiviral drugs but also courts traditional medicines to ease public fear over the largely unknown threat.

CLOSED COMMUNITIES IN BEIJING DUE TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
CLOSED COMMUNITIES IN BEIJING DUE TO CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK • Source: Brian Yang

When the SARS virus outbreak wreaked havoc in the country in 2003, people in China rushed to grab a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) called Banlangen (Radix isatidis, woad root), which was rumored to fend off the virus.

Now 17 years later, while there are more potential synthetic chemical treatments under clinical studies to treat the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, a policy to emphasize the utility of

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