Source: Huff Post.
The Marseille professor has been criticized for defending this treatment, used against malaria, as part of the fight against the coronavirus.
CORONAVIRUS – Professor Didier Raoult, ardent defender of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment against the coronavirus , denounced this Wednesday, August 19, in an interview broadcast on CNews, a “completely mad war” against this drug used for a long time against malaria but banned in the treatment of Covid-19 in France.
“How to explain this completely delusional war, against hydroxychloroquine? How can we defend the idea that a drug taken by two billion people has become toxic in 2020? How has this been defended in the largest medical journals in the world? ”Asked the boss of the Institut Méditerranée-Infection in Marseille.
“One of my theories is that, as we live in a world that believes in continuous progress, we did not realize that a lot of things could become obsolete, but not chemical molecules”, he said, as you can see in the video.
Several health agencies, including the French drug agency ANSM, have warned against cardiac risks linked to the combination between hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin (an antibiotic) for Covid patients, a combination defended by Didier Raoult.
On June 15, the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) withdrew the authorization for emergency use of hydroxychloroquine. France banned its use on May 28 against Covid-19 . On June 17, WHO decided to stop clinical trials on hydroxychloroquine , believing that it “does not result in reduced mortality in these patients”.
Professor Raoult has always defended this treatment. He released several studies to support his point, some of which were heavily criticized in their methods. For many scientists, these do not allow to conclude of the effectiveness of the drug.
Between February and August, “it’s not the same disease”
Professor Raoult also assured CNews that “between the cases that we find now and those that we found in February or March, it is not the same disease”. “What we find now are very benign forms, the proportion of people hospitalized is much lower”, he added.
If the number of hospitalizations in France is not today at the level of the figures for the month of March, the General Directorate of Health (DGS) however notes a regular increase in recent days in the number of hospital admissions. for Covid-19 (4,925 people are currently hospitalized for this reason, including 234 in the last 24 hours). The number of resuscitations oscillates between decline and increase. It was 384 Tuesday night, or 34 more in 24 hours.
It should also be noted that the new coronavirus contaminations mainly concern the youngest (in the 15-44 age group), who develop less serious forms which are therefore not necessarily followed by an increase in hospitalizations and resuscitations.