Twitter users have expressed outrage over the video of two French doctors, Jean Paul Mira and Camille Locht, discussing how Africans could be used for testing of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The doctors who were discussing on television considered Africa as best destination to conduct test for COVID-19 vaccine”.
In the video which has gone viral, the doctors cited that since two African prostitutes were used to carry out test of the vaccine for the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), they can as well use Africans for the coronavirus test also
Mira, head of resuscitation department at Cochin Hospital, also pointed out that the continent should be considered because of its perceived toughness to disease outbreaks.
“If I can be provocative, shouldn’t we do this study in Africa, where there are no masks, no treatment, no resuscitation, a bit like it has been done in some studies in AIDS, where among prostitutes, we try things, because they are exposed, and ..they don’t protect themselves, what do you think?,” he asked.
Corroborating with him, Locht, a research director at Inserm, said similar approach could be adopted as ongoing search for COVID-19 vaccine intensifies across the globe.
“So you are right […] we’re thinking in parallel to a study in Africa precisely to make this same type of approach w/ BCG [vaccine] placebo,I think there is a call for tenders that was released or that will be released & I think we will indeed seriously think about that too,” he said.
Watch the video below and the reactions that followed it.
