He could be a game-changer in the fight against the epidemic. While the European health authorities are examining this antiviral treatment which could be crucial in the fight against the epidemic, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced, Tuesday October 26, during a hearing in the Senate, that France has ordered 50,000 doses of the anti-Covid-19 pill from the American laboratory Merck. At the same hearing, Mr. Véran also said that two-thirds of caregivers were now vaccinated.
France has again reached 5,000 daily SARS-Co-2 contaminations: figures from Public Health France published on Monday show that contaminations have been on the rise again since October 20. If we smooth the numbers over a week, Monday was the third day in a row that the number of new daily cases stood above 5,000. There were 5,084 on Saturday, 5,259 on Sunday and 5,293 on Monday. , while this indicator did not exceed 4,700 cases until October 19.
The government and epidemiologists have insisted in recent weeks on the need to maintain barrier gestures to contain the pandemic, despite the benefits of vaccination.
50,000 doses of Merck’s Covid-19 treatment ordered
“Fifty thousand doses of this drug will be delivered to France from the last days of November or the first days of December, that is to say as soon as the treatments leave the production lines”, Olivier Véran said on Tuesday.
Merck, called MSD outside of North America to distinguish it from a German namesake, reported in early October very encouraging results for this antiviral. According to the American laboratory, which has carried out tests on nearly 800 patients but has yet to make the details public, molnupiravir halves the risk of hospitalization when it is given to patients who have just been tested positive for Covid -19. The group has requested authorization for the treatment from both American and European health authorities, the latter having announced on Monday that they were starting an accelerated procedure.
According to Mr. Véran, the major advantage of this drug is that it is taken in oral form and could therefore be used much easier than intravenous treatments such as, for example, those based on synthetic antibodies. “Imagine that we had [au début de la crise sanitaire] antiviral treatment which reduced the number of serious cases by 50%, imagine the health impact in our country at the heart of the first and second waves, we would have had far fewer deaths and far fewer serious cases “, welcomed the Minister. However, he recalled that this treatment cannot be the only response to the epidemic, stressing the importance of vaccination against Covid-19.
“Vaccination plus antiviral treatment plus monoclonal antibodies equals much lower health impact”, he insisted. This set “We would also put (…) safe in the event of an epidemic wave linked to a new variant of which the damage it could cause is still unknown ”, he concluded. The cost of treatment will a priori be high. Mr. Véran did not specify the amount of the order but, by way of example, the United States ordered 1.7 million doses for $ 1.2 billion this year, or about $ 700 (602 euros ) for each.
Two-thirds of suspended caregivers now vaccinated
“From the first lifts I have, two-thirds of the suspended caregivers returned to work once vaccinated. It’s good “, declared Olivier Véran during a hearing in the Senate on the bill on health vigilance.
“We are therefore at a vaccination coverage rate for employees of health and medico-social establishments which is extremely high, and a rate of suspensions and resignations which is extremely low”, he continued, without saying how many suspensions are in progress. The Minister for Autonomy, Brigitte Bourguignon, had specified on October 20 to the National Assembly that on that date 7,930 caregivers were suspended in France.
Already obliged since September 15 to justify at least one injection, employees of hospitals, clinics and retirement homes, as well as liberal caregivers, home helpers, firefighters and ambulance attendants, i.e. 2.7 million workers, have since on November 15, attest to a “Complete diagram” vaccination, under penalty of suspension of their employment contract, without remuneration.