On Europe 1, Tuesday morning, the president of the High Council for Public Health Franck Chauvin replied to Philippe Douste-Blazy, who campaigned for many more treatments with chloroquine. For the member of the Scientific Council, it is first necessary to "do clinical trials."

INTERVIEW

This is a scientific debate that fascinates French people confined because of the coronavirus: faced with Covid-19, should we use chloroquine, a molecule used by the teams of Pr Didier Raoult at the IHU in Marseille? Several personalities militate for this solution, like the epidemiologist and former Minister of Health Philippe Douste-Blazy, who assured Tuesday morning on Europe 1 that "it couldn't do any harm". Tuesday noon, the president of the High Council of Public Health, Franck Chauvin, replied.

This member of the Scientific Council, gathered around Emmanuel Macron to enlighten the public decision, wants above all to be cautious: "We had given an opinion concerning the use of this molecule, he recalls. Nothing justifies that departs from methodical reasoning. "If chloroquine is effective, which everyone wants, it must be shown. We do not pass this stage of the demonstration of scientific efficiency. "

For Franck Chauvin, it is necessary to "do clinical trials". "And if chloroquine is effective, we will demonstrate it extremely quickly. Why suddenly want to go over all the methodologies in place? We, at the High Council of Public Health, we issue collective opinions which are developed gradually in based on available data, "he reminds the former Minister of Health.