Influencer banned from Weibo after questioning Covid drug's efficacy - Insider

• Wang Sicong has been banned from China's "Twitter" after questioning the use of traditional Chinese medicine to treat Covid.
• The 34-year-old, who has 40.5 million Weibo followers, is the son of China's one-time richest man Wang Jianlin.
• Despite a lack of reliable clinical data, Chinese authorities have recommended traditional medicines to treat Covid, per Reuters. 

The influencer son of a Chinese billionaire has been banned from posting on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform after he questioned the efficacy of a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) endorsed by Beijing to treat mild Covid cases.

"The user is currently banned for violating relevant laws and regulations," reads a message on Wang Sicong's Weibo account, where he has more than 40.5 million followers.

Known for flaunting his lavish lifestyle online, the 34-year-old is the son of real estate mogul Wang Jianlin, who was once China's richest man.  

While Weibo did not provide details behind the ban, reports said it is related to the influencer's now-deleted posts on the Lianhua Qingwen capsules, a popular herbal medicine used to treat Covid. 

Weibo did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

According to Bloomberg, Wang had reposted a video last week asking if the drug had ever been recommended by the World Health Organization as a Covid treatment. In a separate post, he also urged the Chinese securities watchdog to investigate Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical, which makes the drug, per state media outlet Global Times. 

Shares of China-listed Shijiazhuang Yiling plunged by 10% on Tuesday, and shed another 10% the next day, per American news outlet Quartz. 

Despite a lack of reliable clinical data, Chinese health authorities have recommended TCM medicines, including the Lianhua Qingwen capsules, for use by Covid patients, per Reuters. 

In Shanghai, the epicenter of China's current Covid outbreak, millions of boxes of TCM products were distributed to residents across the city earlier this month. Lianhua Qingwen was also given to all Hong Kong households during the city's raging fifth wave of COVID-19 infections in March.

Made with 13 ingredients, including rhubarb, honeysuckle and apricot kernel, Lianhua Qingwen was developed in 2003 to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), per South China Morning Post.

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2022-04-22 06:19:09Z
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