GEORGE TOWN – Despite being shunned by western medical councils, Chinese medicine practitioners are spearheading a “Penang Chinese Medicine Anti-Pandemic Group”, which is still going strong since its inception in mid-April 2020.
It was back in January 2021 that these traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners, together with state welfare exco Phee Boon Poh, began distributing a special herbal tea to help improve lung health and general well-being.
The group’s administrator, who wishes to remain anonymous, told The Vibes that this group was created to help the public boost their body’s immune systems during the Covid-19 pandemic and not for therapeutic purposes.
The Beijing University TCM graduate also stressed that preventive measures still needed to be observed.
“This group was formed voluntarily. We are all licensed TCM physicians with degrees from China TCM universities.
“We hope to help the public increase their knowledge about TCM and how it can help in preventing illnesses and providing general healthcare,” she said, adding that they decided to spearhead the movement as encouraged by the Chinese consul-general in Penang, Lu Shiwei.
They have received a widely used proposed preventive prescription from Wuhan city in Hubei province, China, that has been approved by the China Administration of TCM as the “Guideline for the Prevention of Coronavirus Pneumonia”.
It consists of seven herbs, namely astragalus, ledebouriella root, atractylodes macrocephala, herba eupatorii, honeysuckle, dryopteris, and ripe tangerine rind.
The public can head over to any state assembly service centre to get a coupon to redeem this seven-herb tea concoction from the listed TCM medical halls.
According to Ang Ah Hock, the leader of this initiative, it all started when Phee approached him to assist in packing 20,000 packs of the preventive tea.
“We all packed, but it was rather difficult to do the distribution because of MCO 2.0. So we did couponing instead.
“Those who come to us with the coupon will get their tea for free, and the state government will handle their sponsors.
“We will then be paid according to the number of packs we give out, based on the coupons we have collected,” he said, adding that at its inception, there were 26 participating TCM medical halls. There are more now.
“It is applicable throughout Penang. Anyone can head over to get the coupons,” he said.
“I would like to stress that despite using TCM’s preventive methods, the public still needs to follow standard operating procedures that include washing hands frequently, social distancing, and wearing masks at public areas.” – The Vibes, May 11, 2021
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