MOH refutes Goh Meng Seng's claim of ministry-sponsored study on traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen’s Covid-19 efficacy

• MOH said it had initially offered to sponsor a study on the efficacy of Lianhua Qingwen on the coronavirus
• However, the study’s principal investigator withdrew the application
• Clinical trials so far have not provided any conclusive scientific evidence of the medicine’s efficacy, MOH added
• It was responding to an opposition politician’s claims that the ministry had lied about not studying the efficacy of Lianhua Qingwen’s products
• MOH said the opposition politician’s claim was a “serious, baseless accusation”

SINGAPORE — Calling out an opposition politician for making a “serious, baseless accusation”, the Ministry of Health (MOH) clarified on Sunday (Nov 21) that while it had offered to sponsor a study on the efficacy of the traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen on Covid-19, the application for the study was eventually withdrawn.

The principal investigator for the study had withdrawn the application, citing an inability to secure a suitable study site, MOH said in a Facebook post on Sunday.

The ministry was responding to comments made by People’s Power Party founder Goh Meng Seng in a Facebook post three days ago.

In his post, Mr Goh had accused the ministry of “lying openly” about not studying the efficacy and safety of Lianhua Qingwen’s products, which provide relief of cold and flu symptoms.

“MOH claimed that there is no scientific evidence that Lianhua Qingwen products are safe and effective against Covid-19. However, MOH has actually sponsored a study on Lianhua Qingwen efficacy on treating mild Covid-19 infections!” Mr Goh said in his post.

Mr Goh said that the study was recorded in the World Health Organization and an American database, and he asked why the results had yet to be posted.

“It is totally untrue that there is no study on Lianhua Qingwen's efficacy and safety in Covid-19 treatment,” he added.

MOH said, however, that Mr Goh’s post is incorrect.

“MOH had indeed offered to sponsor the study mentioned by Mr Goh Meng Seng, under a traditional Chinese medicine research grant,” the ministry said.

“However, the principal investigator for the study later withdrew her application. She cited inability to secure a suitable study site as the reason for the withdrawal.”

Mr Goh had included several links in his post.

These include a link to a May 2020 Chinese clinical study conducted on the efficacy of Lianhua Qingwen capsules and a research grant call by MOH for studies on the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of the traditional Chinese medicine on Covid-19.

Mr Goh also posted a link to an abstract for a clinical trial of the Chinese medicine sponsored by Nanyang Technological University in collaboration with MOH, which was posted on a database maintained by the United States’ medical research agency, the National Institutes of Health.

The latter lists the study’s start date as July 2020 and end date as February 2021, but did not have results posted.

In its response, MOH said that to date, only a few randomised control clinical trials on the traditional Chinese medicine have been conducted and only in China.

“The numbers of patients in these randomised control clinical trials were not large enough, as such there is no conclusive scientific evidence to show Lianhua Qingwen can be used to prevent or treat Covid-19 in Singapore,” it added.

“Mr Goh has accused the Government of lying; this is a serious, baseless accusation. We reserve the right to take further action if Mr Goh persists with this unjustified claim.” 

MOH strongly advised the public to consult a doctor for Covid-19 and to avoid speculating or spreading misinformation.

The ministry’s post came several days after the Health Sciences Authority issued an advisory reminding the public that Lianhua Qingwen medicine products are not approved to treat or alleviate Covid-19 symptoms.

The authority stated that it is aware of claims circulating on social media and in Telegram chat groups that some Lianhua Qingwen herbal products can be used to prevent or treat the coronavirus.