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COVID-19

French health authority recommends autumn Covid vaccine campaign

France's health regulator has called for an autumn Covid-19 vaccination campaign for at-risk groups, putting the Covid vaccine on a similar footing the the flu shot, which is administered annually to certain groups.

French health authority recommends autumn Covid vaccine campaign
A man receives a dose of a vaccine against Covid-19 near Marseille. (Photo by CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU / AFP)

France’s health authority, the Haute autorité de Santé (HAS) released its recommendations for 2023, and advised an autumn vaccination campaign against Covid-19 for persons at-risk of developing a severe form of the disease.

It recommends that an autumn Covid vaccine campaign be run alongside the seasonal flu vaccine drives, targeting people at risk from Covid – over 65s, people with long-term illnesses or conditions and pregnant women. 

The recommendation is that the most vulnerable individuals – including immunocompromised people, those aged over 80 years old, and those at very high risk of contracting Covid-19 – could be offered another booster in the spring depending “on the state of their health and their level of vaccine protection”.

French health authorities also clarified that there should be at least six months between doses, and that it will be the bivalent mRNA vaccines (ex Pfizer and Moderna) which will be prioritised.

The HAS can only issue recommendations, any final decision is up to the government.

Nevertheless, immunologist, Stéphane Paul, told Le Parisien: “I think that we will go for an annual vaccination for at-risk populations”, an idea that has already been recommended in other parts of the world, including in England.

Current Covid-19 recommendations in France

As of February 1st, France relaxed some of its Covid-19 rules, as it brought an end to compulsory isolation for those who test positive for the virus.

On February 15th, the country also dropped the requirement that those travelling from China to France present a negative test taken 48 hours before the flight to board the plane.

READ MORE: What Covid rules and recommendations remain for visiting France?

This means that, as of February 2023, there are no Covid-related restrictions on arrivals into France from any country.

Masks remain ‘strongly recommended’ on public transport but are not compulsory anywhere in the country, with the exception of certain healthcare settings. 

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COVID-19

Medical row in France over unauthorised Covid trial

French medical bodies on Sunday called on authorities to punish researcher Didier Raoult for "the largest 'unauthorised' clinical trial ever seen" into the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19.

Medical row in France over unauthorised Covid trial

French medical bodies on Sunday called on authorities to punish researcher Didier Raoult for “the largest ‘unauthorised’ clinical trial ever seen” into the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19.

Raoult, the former head of the IHU Mediterranee research hospital, and his subordinates engaged in “systematic prescription of medications as varied as hydroxychloroquine, zinc, ivermectin and azithromycin to patients suffering from Covid-19… without a solid pharmacological basis and lacking any proof of their effectiveness,” a group of 16 research bodies wrote in an op-ed piece  on daily Le Monde’s website.

The drugs continued to be prescribed “for more than a year after their ineffectiveness had been absolutely demonstrated,” they added.

Endorsement from respected tropical disease specialist Raoult helped push anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine into the public consciousness in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, feeding into its promotion by former US President Donald Trump and Brazil’s then-leader Jair Bolosonaro.

In April, France’s ANSM medications authority said that treatment with hydroxichloroquine “exposes patients to potential side effects that can be serious”.

The doctors’ bodies said Sunday that authorities should take “measures appropriate to the infractions” for the sake of patient safety and “the credibility of French medical research”.

Raoult in March published a “pre-print” study — not yet submitted for scientific peer review — into treatment of more than 30,000 Covid-19 patients.

So far no one has been charged in a probe opened last year by Marseille prosecutors into fraud and unwarranted human testing at the IHU Mediterranee, based in the southern port city.

The government has also requested an investigation into the IHU’s conduct under Raoult’s management following a harsh report from inspectors.

Health Minister Francois Braun told broadcaster RTL on Sunday that he would not comment on an open investigation, but confirmed that the latest study would be included in the probe’s remit.

Raoult retired as a professor in summer 2021 and was replaced at the IHU Mediterrannee last August.

A spokesman said he remained an emeritus professor and was still supervising two doctoral students who began work on their theses before he left.

At the IHU itself, all clinical trials involving humans have been suspended since Raoult’s replacement Pierre-Edouard Fournier took over.

The hospital told AFP it was waiting for the ANSM drug regulator’s word before resuming the trials.

“The IHU has to show it has met expectations” before human testing would be allowed, the ANSM said, without setting out a timeframe.

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