French Doctors Say Africans Should Be Used As COVID-19 Test Subjects

Two French Doctors Blasted For Saying Africans Should Be COVID-19 Test Subjects

On Wednesday, two French doctors made some insensitive comments about the Coronavirus pandemic. Doctors Jean-Paul Mira and Camille Locht made the controversial statements on LCI, a channel on French television.

The two doctors were discussing the COVID-19 pandemic, Mira, who is the head of the ICU at the Cochin Hospital in Paris, suggested that researchers should set up shop in Africa and use Africans as test subjects.

“If I can be provocative, shouldn’t we do this study in Africa where there are no masks, no treatment, no intensive care?” Mira asked. “A bit like we did in some studies on AIDS. We tried things on prostitutes because they are highly exposed and do not protect themselves.”

This is horrific. Two French doctors on live television are discussing how a potential new treatment against #covid19 should be first tested in Africa, “where are no masks, no treatment, no reanimation”, “the same way experimental treatment for AIDS was done on prostitutes”. https://t.co/ojYb8GnKkI

— Rim-Sarah Alouane (@RimSarah) April 2, 2020

Locht, who is a research director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, agreed. “You are right. We are actually thinking of a parallel study in Africa to use with the same kind of approach with BCG placebos,” Locht added, reportedly referring to vaccination against tuberculosis.

African folks have hopped online to lash out at the French doctors. They are angered and furious as to how the “Western World” continues to view African people, their culture, and their country as disposable. Among those who had reacted is two famed footballers Samuel Etoo and Didier Drogba.

See some of the reactions below :

Fuck those French doctors man. Fuck them.

— Dr T (@drtlaleng) April 2, 2020

African governments must pay attention to incoming threats from the West.

In times of scarcity, attacks on African bodies & our resources are justified.

These medical research French doctors are on television suggesting that Africa be where they test the coronavirus vaccine. https://t.co/kw1F8kClJX

— Doreen 🌴✨ (@DoreenGLM) April 2, 2020

Disgusting!

DR JEAN-PAUL MIRA (president of France’s ICS): If I can be provocative, why don’t we test #COVID19 treatments in Africa…like is done for HIV or with sex workers b/c we know they are highly exposed & they don’t protect themselves?

DR CAMILLE LOCHT: You’re right. https://t.co/gUbVbwUbTE

— Stefan Simanowitz (@StefSimanowitz) April 2, 2020

“Do not take African people as human guinea pigs,” warned Drogba after French doctors’ “disgusting” proposal, while Eto’o called them “sons of bitches”…https://t.co/Xs5rLixa4M

— AS English (@English_AS) April 3, 2020

As an African woman, this brought tears to my eyes.

From these French doctors, to western ideologue elites, to stakeholders at international organizations…

they see Africans as lab rats.#Neocolonialism https://t.co/rlTbLK2cXw

— Obianuju Ekeocha (@obianuju) April 2, 2020