Sunkovir, licenced by the Ministry of Health on April 12, was announced as the first to treat COVID-19 at the seminar on the effectiveness of traditional medicine products in preventing and treating COVID-19 and seasonal flu in Ho Chi Minh City on April 25.

Dr Truong Thi Ngoc Lan, Deputy Director of the HCM City Traditional Medicine Institute and the research team’s member, said within three days of using Sunkovir, all patients experienced a rapid reduction in symptoms without any worsening.

None of the study's 1,115 COVID-19 patients who used Sunkovir experienced severe symptoms.

Moreover, Sunkovir significantly reduced the severity of symptoms such as coughs, shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, nosebleeds, body aches, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, chest pain, sneezing, chills, sweating, and insomnia from the third day.

On average, patients recovered from all symptoms within seven days.

The medicine also reduced the need for corticosteroids, anticoagulants, antipyretics, cough suppressants, expectorants, antihistamines, antivirals and gastrointestinal drugs.

Lan said Sunkovir is recommended for respiratory viral infections such as flu and mild COVID-19 in the early stages to reduce symptoms quickly. It can be combined with modern medical treatment regimes such as antipyretics, anti-inflammatories, pain relievers, cough suppressants, and antibiotics if necessary.

Dr Huynh Nguyen Loc, Director of the HCM City Traditional Medicine Institute, said at the seminar that Sunkovir is the first and only traditional medicine to be licensed by the Ministry of Health in Vietnam.

This achievement results from the research team's efforts to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of Vietnamese herbal products in the fight against COVID-19, with the determination of hundreds of Vietnamese doctors and pharmacists.

In addition to Sunkovir's effectiveness, the seminar updated the research results on the effectiveness of traditional medicine products in preventing and treating COVID-19 and seasonal flu./. VNA