Press Release

HKBU offers Immunity Enhancement Remedy to frontline medical staff and other people in need

Tuesday, 24 Mar 2020

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) today (24 March) offers over 5,000 sets of "HKBU Chinese Medicine Immunity Enhancement Remedy" for free to suitable frontline healthcare workers of the Hospital Authority (HA) as a token of appreciation for their effort in fighting the coronavirus outbreak. Each recipient can obtain a six-day course of the Remedy free of charge.

The Chinese Medicine Immunity Enhancement Remedy is prescribed by the HKBU School of Chinese Medicine and produced with herbal medicine ingredients free of any contaminants such as pesticides and heavy metals.

"Many questions related to the current novel coronavirus outbreak, especially those concerning the origin of the virus, require further in-depth research. However on how to fight against the disease on a personal level, there is a clear consensus among experts worldwide that attention to personal hygiene and strengthening immunity are essential," said Prof Bian Zhaoxiang, Associate Vice-President and Tsang Shiu Tim Endowed Chair of Chinese Medicine Clinical Studies at HKBU.

"Personal hygiene includes washing hands frequently and wearing face masks in crowd space. For strengthening immunity, apart from a healthy life style such as regular exercise, a balanced diet and good sleep, we can also leverage on the Chinese medicine concept of reinforcing body's vital essence. Boosting immunity by reinforcing body's vital essence is a proven effective practice for thousands of years. It provides the basis for the prescription, which helps protect the body from viral infection," said Professor Bian.

This gift to frontline healthcare workers is made possible by the generous donation from the Philip K.H Wong Foundation and also with the support of the Tan Siu Lin Foundation.

Free distribution of the HKBU Chinese Medicine Immunity Enhancement Remedy to HA frontline healthcare workers is yet another healthcare charitable initiative carried out by the University. Since February, it had collaborated with the Lions & Hong Kong Baptist University Chinese Medicine Charity Foundation, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Fong's Family Foundation and Fong Shu Fook Tong Foundation to distribute the herbal remedy to elders aged 65 or above, patients with chronic illnesses, residents of elderly care homes, families receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) and other people in need of help. Around 20,000 beneficiaries are getting the Remedy.

Upon knowing that HKBU is distributing the herbal remedy for free to the needy, more donors come forward with Chinese medicines or donations to support this meaningful initiative. They include Jiangyin Tianjiang Pharmaceutical Industry Co Ltd, Mr Chung Po Yang, Mr Timothy Lam, Jr, Mrs Lee Siu Lun, Dr Ronald Lu and a senior Civil Engineering alumnus.

Ingredients of the HKBU Chinese Medicine Immunity Enhancement Remedy:

Codonopsis Radix( Dangshen 20g), Panacis Quinquefolii Radix (Xiyangshen, 20g), Lonicerae Japonicae Flos (Jinyinhua, 10g), Forsythiae Fructus (Lianqiao, 10g), Galli Gigerii Endothelium Corneum (Jineijin, 5g ), Schizonepetae Herba (Jingjie 5g) , Menthae Haplocalycis Herba (Bohe, 5g, add in the last five minutes), Mori Cortex (Sangbaipi, 10g), Eupatorii Herba (Peilan, 8g), Poria (Fuling,20g), Isatidis Radix (Banlangen, 10g), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gancao, 6g).