Covid-19: why Douste-Blazy is committed to chloroquine

Philippe Douste-Blazy, a cardiologist by training, says it himself, he "is back in service". He joined the "health reserve" and gives a little of his time alongside the teams of Samu 92, in Hauts-de-Seine, on the regulation of calls from patients potentially affected by the coronavirus. But the one who was Minister of Health under the Jacques Chirac era between 1993 and 1995 then between 2004 and May 2005, before taking care afterwards for the United Nations of global health, by organizing the Unitaid system (a global tax on plane tickets to finance health programs in emerging countries) today takes up the cause in favor of the drug hydroxychloroquine. An antimalarial whose supposed benefits for patients with Covid-19 are notably highlighted by the work of Professor Didier Raoult, in Marseille.

For now, the French government has agreed with the opinion of the High Council of Public Health, which advises it only for the most serious cases, and not for patients in the early stages of infection with the virus. Various clinical trials are underway to test the effectiveness of this drug, as well as other treatments.

But for Philippe Douste-Blazy, it is urgent to prescribe it more. He is at the origin of the “call # Ne perdons plus de temps”, signed by various medical figures, including Pr François Bricaire (La Pitié-Salpêtrière), Pr Christian Peronne (Garches hospital), Pr Marc Gentilini (former director of the Red Cross) and emergency physician Patrick Pelloux.

Why are you launching this “appeal” to the government, asking for the easier availability of the drug hydroxychloroquine?

PHILIPPE DOUSTE-BLAZY . Our country is experiencing an extraordinary health tragedy. The President of the Republic himself said that we were at war. We have hundreds of deaths a day. In war situations, situations are always imperfect. It has always been so in history. Now it turns out that different scientific studies have shown that hydroxychloriquin can be effective in patients. Other countries, such as the USA or Italy, make it easier for doctors to access it. With us, the current decree signed by the Prime Minister reserves it only for the most serious cases. This text needs to be changed and doctors can prescribe it much more widely. We can't wait any longer.

But why not wait for the end of the clinical trials which are launched, in order to verify the hypotheses of Pr Didier Raoult?

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In a normal situation, this would of course be the case. But there, it is not possible in the face of such an emergency. We cannot just wait for clinical trial results when we have a drug that has some efficacy against Covid-19. I'm not saying it's the miracle cure. Above all, no self-medication is needed. But many doctors, including myself, say that the rules for prescribing this drug should be relaxed.

The work of Professor Didier Raoult is quite controversial within the medical community, with strong support, and others who are very critical of it. What do you think ?

Professor Didier Raoult is one of the greatest specialists in the world of infectious diseases. You have to listen seriously to what he has to say. In Marseille, he obtained good results with his team. And we have a lot of perspective on this treatment. it has been on the market for 70 years, particularly against malaria.

Do you feel that the government has lost time in managing this Covid-19 crisis?

This is not the time for controversy. I support the government in its management of the crisis. It will be time later to see what worked, or what went wrong. It is obviously amazing to hear that the caregivers could lack curare, morphine ... How did we get there? Same thing for the masks. In late 2007, President Chirac asked that a dedicated body be created to deal with all of these threats. Why then was it broken? But today, I especially want to salute the exceptional work of caregivers, but also of the health administration, which manages to mobilize in an extremely effective way to open as many additional beds in the hospital. Five hundred more beds, in a few days, I never thought it would be possible. Well done to them.