Professor Didier Raoult announced in a tweet that hydroxychloroquine is no longer effective against the Omicron variant. A news that can again launch endless debates between its detractors and its defenders.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) no longer “works” against Covid and its variant Omicron. It’s simple according to Didier Raoult “it no longer works on the Omicron variant of 2022”. It’s quite surprising coming from the man who has been defending this treatment tooth and nail since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Let’s talk science.
Currently I agree with the ANSM on hydroxychloroquine against Covid. It no longer works on the Omicron variant of 2022, the concentrations necessary to inhibit Omicron are 50 times greater than for the other variants. There…— Didier Raoult (@raoult_didier) May 4, 2023
And why did the professor adored by some and hated by others change his point of view? Because it’s “science”: “The concentrations needed to inhibit Omicron are 50 times greater than for the other variants. The concentration of hydroxychloroquine in the blood with our protocol was three times the effective dose for the old variants It is no longer so for Omicron. It is science, not dogma”, explains Didier Raoult in his message.
“I agree with the ANSM”
Quite a rare fact Didier Raoult falls within the scientific consensus as noted by our colleagues from Provence and he says it himself: “Currently I agree with the ANSM”. These same health authorities had decided, less than a year ago, to suspend research by the IHU and issue injunctions which temporarily place the Marseille establishment under guardianship.