How to prevent delta variant?

 Tiejun Tang

The Covid pandemic has spread globally for one and a half years, and many European countries have experienced three peaks. Why does this pandemic seem to be endless? The main reason is the mutation of the virus. First, the Alpha variant appeared in the UK, and then the Beta variant appeared in South Africa, the Gamma variant appeared in Brazil, and then the Delta variant appeared in India.

Genetic mutation is the natural to a virus. As you know many people have been vaccinated for influenza in the past, but they still have the flu. That is because the influenza virus is constantly mutating. So does the Coronavirus.

Currently, there is no effective treatment drug for the Covid virus. Doctors mainly rely on vaccines to control the pandemic, but the speed of vaccine research and development cannot keep up with the speed of virus mutation. Therefore, human beings are in a passive situation in the battle against the virus.

Virologist Shahid Jameel, director of the Trivedi School of Biosciences at Ashoka University, said "we don't yet know whether further mutations would make current vaccines useless, this is unlikely. However, the efficacy of vaccines may be reduced due to mutations."

A Public Health England study published on 22 May found that a single dose of either AstraZeneca's or Pfizer's vaccine reduced a person’s risk of developing COVID-19 symptoms caused by the Delta variant by 33%, compared to 50% for the Alpha variant. A second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine boosted protection against Delta to 60% (compared to 66% against Alpha), while two doses of Pfizer’s jab were 88% effective (compared to 93% against Alpha).

The third wave of pandemic was caused by Delta variant. How to prevent the Delta variant? We can’t just pin our hopes on vaccines, we need some new ideas.

My PhD tutor professor Deng Tietao used to be the leader of the Chinese Medicine Expert Group on SARS in the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2003. I found his calligraphy last year while I studied his clinical experience on anti SARS. I translated it in English. He said: "The prevention and treatment of influenza is the advantage of traditional Chinese medicine. No matter how virus changes, it couldn’t escape the palm of traditional Chinese medicine. The curative effect of Chinese medicine on SARA and swine flu is the evidence. Researching on Chinese medicine to prevent viral infectious diseases, to replace immune injection, it will benefit the whole world." His exposition ten years ago still gives us a lot of inspiration for today’s pandemic.   

Different from the mechanism of vaccines, Chinese herbal medicine anti the viral infectious diseases by enhancing the body’s own immunity. Studies have shown that Chinese herbal compound has a multi-target action. It not only acts on the cellular immune system, but also on humoral immune system. Chinese herbal medicine preparation likes a great sky net for viruses. That is why Professor Deng Tietao can confidently say: "No matter how the virus changes, it cannot escape the palm of Chinese medicine."

Based on Professor Deng’s clinical experience, combined with the latest research results of modern pharmacology, I developed Modified Yupingfeng San for the prevention of Covid 19.

It showed a satisfactory prevention effect on the subject groups in UK, North America and Taiwan. 

Due to the mutation of the virus, the pandemic is difficult to control. I suggest that in addition to vaccines, traditional alternative medicine therapies should be selected as a complementary preventive method.