China News Agency, Beijing, March 2. Title: Interview with Zhang Boli: Will there be another peak of the epidemic?
How to treat the sequelae of the new crown?
China News Agency reporter Bo Wenwen
At present, the trend of the new crown epidemic, secondary infection, and sequelae of the new crown are still topics of concern to people.
China News Agency invited Zhang Boli, a representative of the National People's Congress, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and honorary president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, to answer hot issues related to the epidemic and share his views on the inheritance, innovation and development of traditional Chinese medicine.
An excerpt from the interview is as follows:
China News Agency reporter: Will there be another peak of the new crown epidemic in China?
Zhang Boli:
After infection, the antibody protection period is generally between 3 months and 6 months. People with good immunity can protect for more than 6 months; people with weak immunity may have a lower protection rate after 3 months.
Within 3 to 6 months, we are relatively safe.
China has just experienced a peak of the epidemic. It is difficult to predict whether there will be another wave of epidemics and when the next wave will appear. The key is to closely monitor the mutation of the virus strain and the change of infectivity, and do a good job. Monitoring in this regard, but even if there is a mutation of the virus, there is a high probability that large-scale infection will not occur.
At the same time, it also reminds elderly people with underlying diseases to do a good job of strengthening immunization, and vulnerable groups continue to wear masks and protect themselves.
China News Agency reporter: How to prevent secondary infection?
Zhang Boli:
The probability of being re-infected with the new coronavirus is mainly related to the level of human immunity, the mutation of the virus strain, and personal protection in the later stage.
Compared with the early mutant strains, the strains of the Omicron family can cause more breakthrough infections and superinfections, and can escape antibodies in people who have recovered from infection with the new coronavirus.
Although there is no evidence from a large sample of people to show the specific time of sustained immunity after infection with the Omicron variant, the human immune system is already functioning after infection with the new coronavirus.
According to current clinical observations, the probability of secondary infection with the new coronavirus within 3 to 6 months after infection is still relatively low.
The possibility of virus mutation and recombination still exists.
The best way to prevent infection or secondary infection is to implement protective measures, including wearing masks, paying attention to hand hygiene, ventilating frequently, maintaining social distance, and paying attention to rest. Good immunity against disease.
Those who still have persistent symptoms after the infection turns negative can also take appropriate Chinese medicine to improve symptoms, promote early recovery, regulate immunity, and reduce the risk of re-infection.
China News Agency reporter: What are the clinical manifestations of the sequelae of the new crown? How should it be treated?
Zhang Boli:
After being infected with the new coronavirus and turning negative, patients still have short-term and long-term symptoms, which has become a public health problem that needs attention.
Our team recently conducted an online survey on patients who recovered (turned negative) after the new crown virus infection in conjunction with a number of medical institutions across the country. A total of 21,012 patients across the country were collected. The results showed that 17.46% of the new crown patients recovered (turned negative) one month later ( 5 to 8 weeks) still have a series of symptoms, and the top ranking continuous symptoms after one month of recovery are: cough, fatigue, forgetfulness, poor sleep and easy to wake up, difficulty falling asleep, shortness of breath, etc.
Therefore, after the new crown infection turns negative, there may still be short-term symptoms within three months and long-term symptoms after three months.
With the prolongation of time and effective intervention, these symptoms gradually alleviate and disappear, and those with long-term symptoms are very few.
Traditional Chinese medicine has also been widely used in the recovery stage of the new crown, and it has played a very good role.
In January 2021, we put forward the principles of early rehabilitation, comprehensive rehabilitation, and self-rehabilitation during the guidance of Shijiazhuang’s traditional Chinese medicine epidemic prevention and control, and developed the new crown rehabilitation drug Qingjin Yiqi Granules as hospital preparations for promotion and use.
After the outbreak of the epidemic in Tianjin in 2022, it was proposed for the first time to divide post-COVID-19 symptoms into short-term and long-term, and focus research and intervention within 3 months, which will better improve the quality of life of patients and reduce the incidence of COVID-19 sequelae.
The "Expert Consensus on Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment of Common Symptoms of Novel Coronavirus Infection after Negative Nucleic Acid/Antigen Turning Negative" that I participated in was released in January this year, and the relevant treatment suggestions put forward in it have achieved very good results.
China News Agency reporter: At present, masks are still required to be worn in some public places. What conditions do you think must be met to truly return to the state of life before the epidemic?
Zhang Boli:
The following conditions must be met, including: the virulence and pathogenicity of the virus have decreased, which is currently the case with the mutant strain of Omicron; the immune level of the social population can form an effective barrier to prevent severe illness There are effective drugs, Chinese traditional medicines have been proven to be effective, and new therapeutic drugs have been released; at the same time, China's emergency command system for epidemic prevention and control, grassroots epidemic response capabilities and mechanisms are becoming more and more smooth and perfect.
Generally speaking, China has made great progress in these aspects during the three years of fighting the epidemic, and has gradually met the conditions for returning to normal life.
China News Agency reporter: With the development of the times, what changes have taken place in traditional Chinese medicine? What problems are still faced? What efforts have you and your team made to inherit and innovate traditional Chinese medicine?
Zhang Boli:
Traditional Chinese medicine is not static. Its philosophical ideas and theoretical foundations are relatively stable. Although these concepts are ancient, they are not backward. Some have become the forefront of modern medicine, such as the unity of nature and man, and the holistic concept.
The specific skills and prescriptions for medical treatment are changing in almost every era. These ever-changing syndrome prescriptions are the endogenous driving force to promote the advancement of Chinese medicine.
Taking coronary heart disease as an example, the core pathogenesis of "deficiency in origin and excess in superficiality" remains unchanged, but the "basic" and "standard" in the pathogenesis are constantly changing with the changes of the times and regional differences. Things have changed, prescriptions and medicines have also changed, and academics have been making progress.
The continuous advancement of the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine has brought about great changes in the field of traditional Chinese medicine.
At present, Chinese medicine has entered a new stage of high-quality development, which needs to inherit the essence and promote innovation.
The clinical evidence of TCM and the quality of medicinal materials are two bottlenecks in the inheritance and development of TCM.
Our team is committed to combining the original thinking of traditional Chinese medicine with modern technology, using modern science and technology to explain the scientific connotation of traditional Chinese medicine, and has made great achievements in the objectification of traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment, the prevention and treatment of major diseases with traditional Chinese medicine, the development of innovative traditional Chinese medicine, and the cultivation of large varieties of traditional Chinese medicine. A series of important achievements.
We have carried out the first research on evidence-based medicine of traditional Chinese medicine in the country, focusing on improving the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine and providing high-quality evidence of the clinical advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, aiming to explain clearly the clinical efficacy and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine.
In addition, improving and ensuring the quality and efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines, so that ordinary people can use safe medicines, is also the direction we are working on.
China News Agency reporter: What is your message to young people studying Chinese medicine?
Zhang Boli:
I hope they will enhance their cultural self-confidence. Traditional Chinese medicine is the representative of the excellent culture of the Chinese nation. It has accumulated rich experience for thousands of years and summed up the effective experience in disease prevention, treatment and health care. It is very precious and worth inheriting. Innovation and development.
In terms of specific learning, I hope to focus on consciously establishing TCM thinking in clinical practice.
If you use traditional Chinese medicine according to the thinking of western medicine, you will never realize the true meaning of Chinese medicine.
For example, Western medicine does not consider the relationship between respiratory diseases and smooth stools, but Chinese medicine believes that "the lungs and the large intestine are connected to each other." The two affect each other and are closely related in the pathogenesis process.
For example, in the treatment of critically ill patients with new crown infection, some patients who are on a ventilator but whose oxygenation level cannot increase often have constipation. The Xuan Su function of the lungs is normal, the oxygenation level is significantly improved, and the symptoms of the respiratory system are also significantly relieved.
This is a case of TCM clinical thinking.
Therefore, to learn Chinese medicine well and improve the curative effect, one must use Chinese medicine thinking to understand diseases and prescribe medicines under the guidance of Chinese medicine theory.
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