Blog written by Jean-Hervé Bradol, director of studies at the Crash.

Today, in order to obtain supplies of vaccines against Covid-19, there is neither a major difficulty related to price, nor a major obstacle related to intellectual property rules, nor a deficit in bio-medical research. However, these three topics are generally at the heart of MSF's communication in the area of access to medical care for those in most need. Our discourse must therefore evolve.
With the emergence of worrying variants of the virus present in the early stages of the pandemic and, as a consequence, the need to vaccinate on a global scale as quickly as possible, the world is facing a double challenge: biological engineering and ultra-industrial production – “ultra” echoing the need to produce on a global scale in a short period of time.

In this paper, the two authors examine certain aspects of the French response to the epidemic in the light of the experience of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in that field, primarily with respect to the relationship between the actors of the response and the beneficiaries.

After a few months of respite the coronavirus epidemic has resumed its spread. With the second wave becoming a reality in many European countries, the Crash team decided to share some recent reading on the biomedical, political and social aspects of the pandemic in an attempt to shed some light on this tragic Season 2. As in previous editions, some articles are in English and some in French, and they are taken from both mainstream and specialist sources.

The Crash team was delighted to welcome Pierre Chirac, pharmacist and editor of the magazine Prescrire, for a conference on  his analysis of the pharmaceutical industry's influence strategies and the special interests of university hospital researchers, their consequences on the reliability of drug information and the means now required to rectify a harmful situation. This meetting was prepared and moderated by Rony Brauman.

In France, from March onwards, many sociologists regularly appear in the media. Based on this observation, Marc Le Pape analysed 37 articles written during the containment period, dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Alors qu’une première vague de l’épidémie de Covid-19 est en fin de course en Europe et qu’elle poursuit une trajectoire ascendante dans de nombreuses régions du monde, nous proposons une troisième liste de lecture. Elle constitue un bilan d’étape de l’état des connaissances (origine, circulation, transmission et manifestations du virus), des conséquences sociales de l’épidémie, et de l’état du débat scientifique. Comme les deux premières, cette sélection rassemble des articles en français et en anglais, issus de la presse généraliste ou scientifique, ainsi que des contributions issues des sciences sociales.

Lors de cet entretien réalisé le 16 juin, Rony Brauman retrace l'histoire de cette épidémie et de celles qui l'ont précédée, tout en alertant sur celles à venir. Le médecin dresse un premier bilan des plans de lutte contre ce virus et appelle à une refondation de la gestion mondiale des questions de santé, à travers un rôle renforcé de l'OMS. 

Lors de cette interview diffusée dans l'émission "La Balade de Yoko" de France Inter le 22 juin, Rony Brauman revient sur la crise du Covid-19. 

This study, conducted among the men of Homa Bay in Nyanza Province, Kenya, assesses the representations of HIV and impact on care seeking. It reveals that simply setting up a testing or care campaign does not necessarily mean that the entire population will participate; the message has to be tailored to the target population and fine-tuned even within that population.

Le 13 mai, Rony Brauman intervenait dans l'émission Clique de Canal+ pour dresser un premier bilan sur l'épidémie de coronavirus, deux jours après le début du déconfinement. Probabilité d'une recombinaison du virus sous une forme plus virulente, polémique autour de la chloroquine et outils de traçage des malades sont des sujets abordés sur le plateau.

Crisis situation, response strategies, hydroxychloroquine, interventional epidemiology and the state of scientific research in Africa: Elba Rahmouni interviews Emmanuel Baron, Director of Epicentre, Médecins Sans Frontières

Crisis situation, response strategies, hydroxychloroquine, interventional epidemiology and the state of scientific research in Africa: Elba Rahmouni interviews Emmanuel Baron, Director of Epicentre, Médecins Sans Frontières