Is France Once Again Looking for a Scapegoat?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Michael M Lederman, CASE School of Medicine; Jeffrey S Flier, Harvard Medical School; Peter Hale, Foundation for Vaccine Research; Ashley T Haase, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; William Powderly, Washington University in St. Louis; Peter Reiss, Universiteit van Amsterdam; Guido Silvestri, Emory University; Rafick-Pierre Sekaly, Emory University; Mirko Paiardini, Emory University; Drew Weissman, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine; Daniel R Kuritzkes, Harvard Medical School; Leonard H Calabrese, Case Western Reserve University; Peter Agre, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Gustavo Reyes-Teran, National Institute of Health; Alan L Landay, Rush University; Sharon Lewin, University of Melbourne; Douglas D Richman, University of California, San Diego; Paul Volberding, University of California, San Francisco; Peter W Hunt, University of California, San Francisco; Mauro Schechter, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-08-13
• Publisher: Pathogens and Immunity
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © Pathogens and Immunity 2021
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.20411/PAI.V6I2.490
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Pathogens and Immunity
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 149
• End Page: 152
• Keywords: Cour de Justice de la Republique; facemasks; inquest; epidemiology; COVID-19; pandemic response; PCR; public health
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Immunology; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

On September 10, 2021, a special tribunal established by the French government launched an inquiry into the activities of former health minister Dr. Agnes Buzyn who was charged with “endangering the lives of others”. It is surprising to learn of this accusation and inquiry into the actions of a public health official whose response to the epidemic was, to all appearances, exemplary.