It was he, when he was Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who proposed adding "and prevention" behind the title of Minister of Health.
Aurélien Rousseau had a hollow nose, he who now assumes the function. "There is an ideological battle to be fought around prevention, which is often associated with cheesy advertising campaigns. It's not just that, it's also therapeutic innovations, predictive medicine, artificial intelligence... everything that contributes to living better, he defends. If I could establish this culture, I would have succeeded in my mission. »
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Next week, it is still by a campaign that the 47-year-old minister launches "his" major project, he announces. It will aim to raise awareness and prepare minds for widespread vaccination against the papillomavirus (or HPV), which will take place in October for all 5th grade students. All of them, girls and boys, since we now know that they are carriers, transmitters and victims of this sexually transmitted virus. While Australia, ultra-vaccinated, is on the verge of eradicating its cervical cancer, HPV is still responsible for France nearly 6,000 tumors (cervix, ENT, penis ...). "Infuriating," sums up Aurélien Rousseau.
Treatment for bronchiolitis soon available
Almost in parallel, the 47-year-old minister will have to convince of the interest of another injection: that of Beyfortus, the first preventive treatment against bronchiolitis that should be available in France early September for infants under one year. "This antibody will protect our babies from severe forms of the disease and, in turn, the health care system," he insists.
He says he is "marked" by the transfer this summer to Rouen of a small two-month, for lack of sufficient places in Île-de-France, as Le Parisien had revealed. But he is also aware of the mistrust of the French towards bites and prefers to hide behind the word of pediatricians. He asked Professor Christèle Gras-Le Guen, head of the pediatrics department at Nantes University Hospital, to be an "ambassador" for the campaign and to relay it to health professionals.
Especially since no one knows what Eris or BA.2.86, Omicron's new variants, have in store for us. Will autumn be under the sign of Covid? Will the French relive the great shortage of capsules and tablets, some of which are essential? He thinks about it, and thinks about "how to establish another relationship with drug use." The other day he was at the pediatrician for the last of his three children. On his way out, he ran to the pharmacy, without checking his own cupboards. Result: "I have a mountain of Pivalone box (drops for the nose), it's ridiculous," he concedes. Or how everyone will have to learn to do better.