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HEALTH

What new Covid-19 treatments could soon be available in France?

During his address to the nation earlier this week President Macron announced that France would soon have a "new weapon" in the fight against Covid-19. We break down some of the anti-viral medications that could be made available in France.

French medical staff in masks and gowns provide medical assistance to patients at a Covid-19 intensive care unit at the Montpellier University Hospital.
New Covid-19 treatments could help ease the burden on French hospitals as the country battles a fifth wave of the pandemic (Photo by Pascal GUYOT / AFP)

It could be quite the Christmas present. 

As Europe struggles through a fifth wave of the pandemic, President Macron said earlier this week that France will receive the first “truly effective treatments” against severe forms of Covid-19 before the end of the year. 

So, what treatments was he actually talking about? 

Molnupiravir 

Marketed under the brand name, Lageviro, this drug was developed by the American pharmaceutical giant, Merck. 

It is designed as a pill to be swallowed by those who test positive for Covid and greatly reduce the odds of suffering serious illness as a result of infection. It is taken twice daily over the course of five days. 

According to a non-peer reviewed study conducted by Merck, the drug can cut hospitalisations and deaths among people with COVID-19 by half.

READ ALSO IN NUMBERS: Cases, hospitalisations and deaths in France’s fifth wave of Covid-19

Although this treatment has yet to be approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), France has already ordered 50,000 doses. Speaking in the Senate last month, Health Minister Olivier Véran said that the pills will arrive in France at the end of November or early December. 

Lageviro has already been approved by health regulators in the UK. Technically, the EMA and European could not block France from authorising the medicine within its borders. 

Paxlovid

Another pill that is likely to be available in France before the end of the year is Paxlovid. Its developer, Pfizer, says that it reduces the chance of Covid-infected patients from falling seriously ill by 89% – if taken within three days of infection. 

While Lageviro causes the RNA inside the virus to mutate and stop replicating inside the human body, Paxlovid inhibits an enzyme that allows the Covid-19’s viral proteins to develop in the first place. 

READ ALSO French Austrian firm Valneva wins EU deal for its Covid vaccine 

In an interview with Le Parisien in July, Jean-François Delfraissy, president of the French scientific council on Covid-19, was optimistic about the drug’s potential. He said that a fourth word, “heal”, would be added to the country’s current approach to the virus: “test, trace, isolate.”

Paxlovid is more expensive to produce than Lageviro and therefore may not be used as much. The government has not disclosed how many doses have been ordered. Delfraissy originally said doses would be available in the Autumn of this year. 

Ronapreve and Regkirona

Two further drugs were approved by the EMA on Thursday, after Macron’s address, and could soon be made available for use in France. 

Ronapreve and Regkirona work by targeting the proteins in the Covid-19 virus that allow it to infect human cells. 

These treatments are given either via an injection or through an intravenous drip, at the early stages of infection, to prevent serious illness. 

The EU has already ordered 55,000 Ronapreve treatments but it is unclear when or if this drug will be used in France. 

In a statement on Thursday, Stella Kyriakides, the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, welcomed the development of these new treatments as an “important step” but insisted that “vaccination is the only preventative way out of the crisis.” 

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HEALTH

MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France

Tiger mosquitoes, which carry a range of potentially deadly diseases, have now been detected in northern France including Normandy, which had previously been spared.

MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France

The Normandy Regional Health Agency announced that they had detected tiger mosquitoes – which can carry deadly diseases such as dengue fever, zika and chikungunya – in the region, according to a memo published on Tuesday.

As a result, every French region now has tiger mosquitoes present. Previously, Normandy was the only region to not have detected the insect’s presence.

Originally from Asia, the mosquitoes have been detected in Europe for several decades and have been gradually moving north through France, aided by the changing climate and warmer weather.

The health authorities specified in the memo that “at this time, no local transmission of any mosquito-related diseases have been found in Normandy.”

The Normandy Regional Health Agency specified that they had observed tiger mosquitoes in the Seine-Maritime département, which means that the insect is present in 71 of France’s 95 mainland départements, as seen in the map below (blue: present; white; not yet detected)

Tiger mosquito populations have been growing steadily in France for the last two decades, in part thanks to rising temperatures due to the climate crisis.

Experts have previously said they think that France will be fully colonised by 2030.

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In even worse news, it seems that mosquito traps and repellents being tested by local authorities are not very effective.

Sleeping under a mosquito net will protect you at night, but unlike European mosquitoes, tiger mosquitoes come out during the day as well as at night.

The best advice that experts can offer is to make sure there is no standing water near your home, as this is where mosquitoes breed.

Researchers are currently looking into other methods of control such as sterilising female mosquitoes.

Although dengue fever, zika and chikungunya can prove fatal, they are rarely so with good medical treatment.

What do tiger mosquitoes look like?

They are very small, about 5 mm, and they have a 'highly contrasting colour, with black and white stripes on their body and legs.

Credit: Agence regionale santé normandie

If you believe you have spotted a tiger mosquito, you can report it to public health authorities online.

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