{"id":215825,"date":"2021-01-13T00:18:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T18:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=215825"},"modified":"2021-01-18T19:32:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T14:02:19","slug":"using-vaccines-against-covid-is-far-cheaper-safer-than-using-local-brews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/using-vaccines-against-covid-is-far-cheaper-safer-than-using-local-brews\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Vaccines Against Covid\u00a0Is Far Cheaper &#038; Safer Than Using Local Brews!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\">By <a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Chandre+Dharmawardana\">Chandre Dharmawardana<\/a> &#8211;<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_171829\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-171829\" class=\"size-full wp-image-171829\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Chandre-Dharmawardana-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-171829\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Chandre Dharmawardana<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">A recent newspaper headline carried a \u201c<i>Plea to try traditional medicine before importing billions worth of anti-COVID 19 vaccines<\/i>\u201d. There are two questions to examine here. (a) In a country afraid of even burying post-Covid corpses and insisting on cremations, should one \u201crelease\u201d infectious patients to practitioners of traditional medicine who come in all shades and colours? Should the much abused precautionary principle be applied here? (b) If the country uses indigenous preparations, will it save<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>billions?<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">We answer these two questions, and then discuss their rationale. (a)Patients who wish to be treated by traditional medical practitioners should be ALLOWED to do so, as long as they use registered practitioners. Secondly, (b) using scientific medicine and its vaccines is not only EFFECTIVE, but also<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>MUCH CHEAPER and safer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>The choice of the treatment should be open to the patient<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Sri Lanka reports 50,000 <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Covid\">Covid<\/a><\/span> cases since the pandemic began, together with a death toll of approximately 250 in early January 2021. This means, given 200 patients, there is going to be only ONE fatality.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, this low fatality rate is partly due to the success of Sri Lanka&#8217;s doctors. It is also established that many fatalities are cases of<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cco-morbidity\u201d, with diabetes, cardio-vascular problems, or asthma and respiratory health problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">So the threat of the pandemic is not its mortality rate, but its rapid infectiousness. The pandemic<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>generates<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>large numbers of patients,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>saturating<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>hospitals and exhausting the staff.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Many homes are too poor and<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>unequipped to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>isolate sick individuals. Thus they need hospitalization. So, many who need hospitalization do not need special procedures and intensive care, but they need health care. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The known biochemistry and physiology of<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>viral infections suggest that a good course of action is to<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>treat the patient&#8217;s fever, body pains<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and other symptoms<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and allow the patient<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>to rest, sleep well, and hydrate well.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Then the normal defence mechanisms of the body<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>kick in and the viral infection<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>pass away, just as with common influenza. So, if the patient wishes to use traditional medications, the main difference for Covid 19 is proper isolation to prevent the infection spreading to care givers and others.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">So, patient<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>may choose Indigenous medicine, and that choice should be respected if quarantine requirements can be ensured. The patient<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>uses \u201cpas-panguva\u201d and other brews, special preparations based on herbs like \u201c<i>rasakinda (Tinospora Cordifolia), veni-ael-gaeta (Coscinium fenestratum)<\/i>, <i>heen-bin kohomba (andrographis paniculata), pitawakka (Phyllanthus Niruri) <\/i>etc., as recommended by a traditional herbalist. Heen bin-kohomba is also well known in Chinese herbal medicine. It<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>is said to be officially prescribed for Covid in Thailand. A perusal<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>of the \u201cVattoru\u201d (herbal lists) given by the late Ven. Ananda Maithreeya is sufficient to identify the herbs of interest for the relevant class of infections. The pharmacological properties, and botanical details of many local herbs and plants are given in <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><a style=\"color: #ff6600;\" href=\"https:\/\/dh-web.org\/place.names\/bot2sinhala.html\">the website<\/a><\/span>\u00a0that I have developed over decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">All these herbal<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>medications, even the recommended \u201cbest ones\u201d, are much less efficacious than, say,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span><i>acetaminophen<\/i> (paracetamol, Tylenol, Panadol)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>in lowering fever and body pain. <i>Rasakinda<\/i> extracts, even when given in high doses take over two hours to bring down the fever of laboratory mice tested in clinical studies, while acetaminophen does it at a much lower dose, and within half an hour. Furthermore, many herbs like \u201cheen-bim kohomba\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>or \u201cRasakinda\u201d, while more effective than the ubiquitous \u201cpas-panguva\u201d, also have adverse consequences (see our website). <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">In contrast, acetaminophen is very safe even for pregnant mothers, and the reported problems have arisen from<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201chuman error\u201d or \u201cpatient folly\u201d. Indigenous<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>medicine lacks effective antipyretics like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Of course, some say, \u201cwe let nature take its course\u201d, and do not lower the fever! But high fever can have adverse effects, and the febrile sick find it hard to sleep and get rest.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Nevertheless, if someone chooses traditional medicine for a Corona-SARS type infection, they should have their wish, subject to proper quarantine procedures that hospitals of indigenous-medicine can easily provide. Such hospitals should have the right to transfer patients to hospitals practicing scientific medicine if the health of the patient needs it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\" style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><b>Covid vaccine use is far cheaper than Traditional Medicine<\/b>!<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">People are surprised to hear that vaccines and \u201cWestern Treatment\u201d are<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>much cheaper than local brews or herbal medications. A 500 mg tablet of acetaminophen at the State Pharmaceutical Corporation costs Rs 1.00 (or at most Rs 3.00 if a name brand is purchased). Three such tablets, costing Rs 3 per day is usually enough to control fever. A packet of Paspanguva costs Rs 200-400, and usually<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>at least 4-5 packets may be needed<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>since viral infections take 7-10 days to heal. The total cost of the \u201cWestern treatment\u201d may be Rs 21, while the cost of the herbal treatment using 5 packets of \u201cpaspanguva\u201d is about Rs 1500, i.e.,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>70<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>times more expensive. In addition, if other less common preparations (e.g., using Rasakinda, or Heen Bim Kohomba) were used, the cost would be even more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">So, the treatment of an uncomplicated viral infection using indigenous medicine is about a hundred times more expensive than<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>using scientific medicine. The latter is also less prone to side effects (e.g., for complications from Rasakinda or Bin Kohomba, see our plant website).<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">It is also claimed that various special brews like the \u201cDhammika Paneiya\u201d, or the \u201cSudharshana\u201d brew etc., can cure or<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>protect against Covid-19 infections. Owing politicization, and opposition to any scientific review as being a part of \u201cWestern Hegemony\u201d, no peer-reviewed clinical studies are available. How preparations saturated with sugar can be approved for invalids who may well be diabetic is unclear. However, assuming that accredited medical personal of the<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Dept. of Indigenous medicine accept<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the brews, we include them in our discussion. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">The Dhammika Paeniya (containing honey, nutmeg, and two undeclared ingredients) is said to cost about Rs 6000- Rs 8000, and needs to be taken during four days to obtain a cure. Assuming that a US dollar is Rs 200, a bottle of the \u201cPaeniya\u201d costs $30-40.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>According to reports, such a bottle may be adequate for two people. Hence the cost of immunization, or treatment with the \u201cPaniya\u201d is $15-20 per person. The other available local preparations are as costly. They are in extreme short supply, the price would move up, and there would be no more at any price.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Unlike the \u201cPaeniya\u201d, extensive clinical trials have been used with the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>as well as with the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine. The Oxford vaccine is the most convenient for Sri Lanka as it does not need<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>ultra-cold storage. It is said to costs about $2., i.e., 7-10 times CHEAPER than the \u201cDhammika Paeniya\u201d whose performance is unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">If approximately 65-70% of the adult population were vaccinated,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cherd immunity\u201d is said to set in, benefiting<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>the whole population. Sri Lanka&#8217;s adult population is about 14 million; the approximate cost of the vaccine for 70%<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>(9.5 million) is $19 million. Sri Lanka can do it and has led the way in South Asia in the past, in successful vaccination programs to counter common diseases where traditional treatments failed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">To assume that 9.5 million doses of the Dhammika Paeniya (or the preparations offered by its competitors) are available at any price is pure fantasy. Nevertheless, even at $20 per portion of a local brew, the local treatment will cost the country $190 million, not including organizational costs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Sri Lanka should avoid becoming the country that made a <i>pooja<\/i> of $190 million to \u201cKali Amma\u201d, and yet earned the wrath of the Goddess \u2013 \u201cDeva Udahasa\u201d.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>If the Paseniya fails to work, it is surely not the fault of the \u201cKapuva\u201d, but \u201cDeva-Udahasa\u201d! <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong><em><span class=\"s1\">*The author maintains a website, viz., dh-web.org\/place.names\/bot2sinhala.html on local plants, ethno-botany, phyto-chemistry and plant pharmacology<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":215420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-215825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Using Vaccines Against Covid\u00a0Is Far Cheaper &amp; Safer Than Using Local Brews! 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