Olivier Veran, Minister of Health and Solidarity, during the Report of the Council of Ministers // 04SIPA_1.419 / 2005201646 / Credit: Romain GAILLARD-POOL / SIPA / 2005201653 - Romain GAILLARD-POOL / SIPA

The Minister of Health Olivier Véran asked this Saturday the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) to propose "within 48 hours a review of the overriding prescription rules" of various treatments like hydroxychloroquine, after the publication of a study pointing out its ineffectiveness and its risks for Covid-19 patients.

Following the publication in @TheLancet of a study alerting to the ineffectiveness and risks of certain treatments of #COVID ー 19 including hydroxychloroquine, I entered @HCSP_fr so that it could be analyzed and offered 48h a review of the derogating prescription rules.

- Olivier Véran (@olivierveran) May 23, 2020

“Following the publication in TheLancet of a study alerting to the ineffectiveness and the risks of certain treatments of Covid-19 including hydroxychloroquine, I asked the HCSP to have it analyzed and offered me within 48 hours a revision of the derogating prescription rules, "said the Minister in a tweet.

NEW Research — No evidence of benefit for #chloroquine and #hydroxychloroquine in # COVID19 patients, urgent randomized trials are needed: finding from a large observational study of nearly 15,000 patients with # COVID19 & 81,000 controls https://t.co/P4YbYVhRDZ

Thread (1/4) pic.twitter.com/dxo120ngy9

- The Lancet (@TheLancet) May 22, 2020

Apart from clinical trials, France has already restricted the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in hospitals only and only for serious cases on the collegial decision of doctors.

This molecule, derived from the antimalarial chloroquine, has known an unprecedented notoriety since the end of February since Professor Didier Raoult, of the University Hospital Institute (IHU) in Marseille, relayed a small, little detailed Chinese study, claiming that the chloroquine phosphate showed signs of efficacy in patients with SARS-CoV2.

Increased risk of death and arrhythmia

Two studies, one Chinese and one French, published last week, however, found that the HCQ did not significantly reduce the risks of admission to intensive care or death in patients hospitalized with pneumonia due to Covid-19.

And another study, with data on a total of 96,000 patients, published in The Lancet on Friday, to which Olivier Véran alludes in his tweet, concluded that neither chloroquine nor the HCQ are effective against Covid -19 in hospitalized patients.

According to this study, these molecules even increase the risk of death and cardiac arrhythmia.

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  • Olivier Véran
  • Covid 19
  • Coronavirus
  • Health