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‘What we need is paracetamol’: Chinese authorities face backlash over drive to hand out traditional medicine Lianhua Qingwen as Covid surges
- The decision to hand out half a million boxes prompted protests from some Yunnan residents who asked for modern medicines
- Opinion is split on the benefits of using the treatment, whose makers say it is based on a formula dating back 2,000 years
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The Chinese government is stepping up the production and distribution of a traditional Chinese medicine known as Lianhua Qingwen as part of its efforts to contain a surge of Covid-19 cases.
Some provinces are distributing tens of thousands of boxes to residents and the medicine was officially recommended as a treatment by the government in the early stages of the pandemic.
But opinion is divided over its effectiveness as a treatment and regulators in some countries have warned against its use or even banned it.
Last week, a special task force approved the distribution of half a million boxes of the medicine along with a million rapid antigen test kits in the southwestern province of Yunnan.
The drive prompted complaints among some residents who asked for modern medicines such as paracetamol, which is currently in short supply in China.
“Why give us expensive Lianhua Qingwen? What we need is drugs that can lower the temperature, such as ibuprofen and paracetamol,” said one Weibo user.
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