This Tuesday, Professor Jérôme Salomon, Director General of Health, was the first player in the management of the health crisis to answer questions from the 32 deputies of the National Assembly’s commission of inquiry. Asked about the management of mask stocks, the deployment of tests or access to care in nursing homes, the director of administration assumes and defends his balance sheet.
Were there any shortcomings in the management of the health crisis? This is the question that Professor Jérôme Salomon, Director General of Health (DGS), did not want to answer. This Tuesday, the administrative manager defended France’s strategy before the Covid-19 fact-finding mission of the National Assembly – with the powers of a commission of inquiry -, despite a heavy toll and the many hiccups raised in the press such as the shortage of masks for health professionals.
Even if the Covid-19 caused the death of 29,550 people in France – which places it according to the count of thejohns hopkins university ranked as the 5th most bereaved country in the world -, Jérôme Salomon will not do any my culpa or will not identify any malfunction. Recall that he advised Minister Marisol Touraine on health security issues between 2013 and 2015, wrote notes for candidate Emmanuel Macron in 2016, was a member of the Board of Directors of Public Health France in October 2016 until taking office in January 2018 as Director General of Health. At the heart of the country’s public health policy for nearly 7 years, Jérôme Salomon has kept the line of conduct of an administrator: he describes, applies but does not explain much.
MEPs demand “precise answers”
However, the members of the commission of inquiry tried to have him analyze or explain the most salient ‘hiccups’ in the management of the health crisis… in vain. On the decision not to make masks compulsory for the general public? “As Voltaire would say: before knowing we don’t know” he said claiming to have followed the changing recommendations of the WHO and saying that there is no scientific consensus around masks ‘general public’. Explanations on his memo to candidate Emmanuel Macron from 2016 saying that France is not ready in the face of the epidemiological risk? Pr Jérôme Salomon dodges and omits to explain the spirit of this writing. Why did not you follow the WHO recommendations for systematic screening? He congratulates the cooperation between the various veterinary, civilian and military laboratories and describes Public Health France’s desire to continue screening with 230 clusters Why did you order 100 million masks at the end of 2019 when an audit in September 2019 put the need at 1 billion? He describes the evolution of the health doctrine of transforming this ‘frozen’ stock into ‘dynamic’ in order to avoid ending up suddenly with a mass of unusable masks.
“He doesn’t answer anything and drowns the fish. We don’t know why he considered France not ready, nor what he did to prepare the country”, railed with the World by SMS a deputy of the commission, during the hearing. Brigitte Bourguignon (LREM), president of this commission, questioned the interviewee asking for “precise answers” Has “specific questions”. After 4 hours of discussion, Professor Jérôme Salomon will never have uttered the word “shortage” concerning the glaring lack of masks for healthcare personnel. A first exchange of the deaf in this parliamentary marathon. The committee of inquiry of deputies intends to audition this week the current director of Public Health France and her predecessor, the president of the Covid-19 scientific council as well as the two predecessors of Jérôme Salomon as director general of Health.
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