Star footballer joins row after French scientists suggest testing virus vaccine in Africa
Two leading French doctors on Friday insisted they had been misunderstood after sparking a storm of criticism by discussing the idea of testing a vaccine for coronavirus in Africa on television.
Although they later apologised for any offence caused if their comments had not been clear, former international and Ivory Coast football star Didier Drogba joined lawyers and a French anti-racism organisation in criticising the remarks made on Wednesday in a broadcast on the LCI channel.
READ ALSO: Morocco reports 70 new COVID-19 cases, 761 in total
Camille Locht, head of research at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) in Lille, was questioned about a shield for coronavirus using the well-known BCG vaccine for tuberculosis.
He was asked by Jean-Paul Mira, head of intensive care at the Cochin hospital in Paris, whether Africa offered better conditions for testing the vaccine.
“If I could be provocative, shouldn’t we be doing this study in Africa, where there are no masks, no treatment, no intensive care, rather as was done with certain studies on AIDS, where things are tested on prostitutes because it’s known that they are highly exposed (to HIV)?” Mira asked. “What do you think?”
Locht replied: “You’re right, we are thinking in parallel by the way about a study in Africa with the same kind of approach, (but) it doesn’t prevent us from being able to think about a study in Europe and Australia at the same time.”
Scientists who carry out clinical trials try to find conditions in which large numbers of people are exposed to the disease, as this gives a better opportunity for testing a new drug.
Such trials are carried out under strict supervision, which requires volunteers to be briefed about any risks and to give their informed consent.
But the idea of having Africa as a setting for a coronavirus vaccine is controversial.
