The issue of original drugs versus generic drugs is easy to judge: look at what doctors and their families are taking.
A doctor friend came to the bookstore to share his story. He said his father, who lives in Shenzhen, had prostate problems (which is his specialty) and would get up seven or eight times a night. He looked at the medication and insisted on switching the generic drugs to original drugs. The old man got up once or twice a night, and his quality of life greatly improved.
The bookstore’s reader friends are very grateful to this doctor. He is a big Weibo influencer and has been consistently speaking out publicly in recent years.
This brought him fame, and of course, trouble. Once, he was even taken to the police station for questioning. The police were not at all polite, but the chief was quite nice and quickly let him go home.
At work, he is also a ‘maverick,’ having long abandoned the path of evaluation within the system, and instead trying to ‘be himself.’ Doctors rely on their skills to make a living, and ultimately gain a certain amount of space to speak.
His experience had a great impact on me. In the past, I thought that it was normal for ordinary people like me to have posts deleted or be interviewed. Doctors should be respected, because no matter where you are, you will get sick.
This is not to say that doctors should enjoy the privilege of speaking, but because doctors’ public statements often start from their profession and are naturally related to the ‘public interest.’ They are concerned with the ‘health of the people’ every day.
The vast majority of doctors do not have the urge for public expression because they are busy with work, and working diligently can bring them a good income. This profession encourages people to bury their heads in their work.
Because of this, when doctors choose to speak out publicly, it is often because they, as ‘people,’ have reached the point where they have to speak out, and if they don’t, they will be condemned by their conscience.
Jiang Yanyong during SARS, Li Wenliang during COVID-19, including Zhang Wenhong, were all like this. Every time a doctor stands up, it actually means that a real public health crisis has occurred.
Doctors will not sensationalize, and they may not even want to stand up, but sometimes they just speak the truth, and it seems brave—this is only because the situation is already quite critical.
Dr. Zheng from Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai and other CPPCC members are also like this. Today, I saw an article saying that some hospitals in Shanghai can now prescribe original antihypertensive drugs, and patients’ blood pressure can be lowered.
This is very sad and also very dangerous. You must know that this is in Shanghai, and what about a county town like my hometown?
However, Dr. Zheng’s Weibo shows ‘account cancelled.’ It’s cancelled, not banned, which means the speech is not against the rules, but it’s clear that pressure is felt: the leaders’ persuasion, the ‘higher-ups’ greetings, and the concerns of relatives and friends, forming a huge pressure group.
As long as you speak up, there will be many well-meaning people advising you.
It can be predicted that Dr. Zheng will remain silent in the future and will devote more to his work. This is also a reflection of the public opinion trend surrounding this round of drug procurement: it has resonated with everyone, received some attention, but will eventually fall into silence.
When doctors are silent, what does it mean?
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