A general practitioner from the south of France recently stepped up to the plate in an open letter. The interested party castigated the political decision-makers concerning chloroquine, the antimalarial drug advocated by the infectiologist Didier Raoult. At the same time, the government published a decree governing the delivery of chloroquine-based treatment.
A few days ago we were again talking about chloroquine, a controversial treatment originally used against malaria. According to infectious disease specialist Didier Raoult, director of the Mediterranean Infection Institute in Marseille, this treatment shows signs of effectiveness against the Covid-19 coronavirus. After following a Chinese study and then conducting his own tests, the person concerned was finally considered. Indeed, Plaquenil – a drug developed by Sanofi – has been integrated into the European Discovery trial with other treatments for tests on patients with Covid-19.
On March 26, 2020, the daily La Provence relayed the open letter from a professional of health. It was Bernard Giral, general practitioner and president of the Professional Territorial Health Community (CTPS) of the Pays d'Arles. According to the person concerned, we are facing a real "chloroquine scandal" embodied by a large clinical study whose conclusions will say that the drug does not work. Indeed, the doses administered concern patients already in serious condition. In reality, this treatment should concern infected people in order to prevent their condition from getting worse.
A few hours after the publication of Bernard Giral's open letter, Le Parisien mentioned a new decree from the Ministry of Health. However, this decree aims to regulate the prescription of Plaquenil in the case of patients affected by Covid-19. According to the text, prescriptions can only be made in establishments taking care of Covid-19 patients . That is, the drug affects only the most serious patients. Indeed, hospitals only take care of the most serious cases! In addition, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) is currently developing a therapeutic use protocol for the attention of health professionals. It is also a question of defining the contours of information intended for patients.
Obviously, this decision should not please Bernard Giral and the health professionals he represents.
