President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday qualified the Marseilles professor Didier Raoult, strongly criticized for his studies on the treatment of Covid-19, of "great scientist", estimating that the bi-therapy concocted by this specialist in infectious diseases " be tested. "
"The bi-therapy that Professor Raoult offers, it must be tested," said Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI). "We have to move forward, show effectiveness and measure toxicity". This while being "very careful", continued the head of state.
He paid a surprise visit last week to Didier Raoult, who claims the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, a derivative of chloroquine, a drug against malaria, in the biotherapy treatment of the new coronavirus. But these conclusions are not unanimous among specialists: epidemiologists criticize the absence of a control group receiving a placebo and a bias, study participants with less severe forms of the disease.
Professor Raoult "invites us to be humble"
"It is not a question of belief, it is a question of scientist. I am convinced that he is a great scientist, and I am passionate about what he says and what he explains, "noted Emmanuel Macron on RFI, saying that Didier Raoult was" really one of our greatest luminaries in matter ”.
"My duty is that all the therapeutic avenues pursued today can be subject to rigorous clinical trials and as quickly as possible so that a treatment can be found," he continued, stressing that his " role "consisted in ensuring that Professor Raoult's research" did well within the framework of a clinical trial protocol ".
It was also a question of "looking with methods which must be simple but rigorous, if it worked or it did not work". And Professor Raoult "invites us to be humble," noted Emmanuel Macron, "because he himself says that things can vary depending on the season and geography, and that a virus reacts to an ecosystem."
- Emmanuel Macron
- Didier raoult
- Coronavirus
- Society