Eto’o & Drogba Fight ‘racist’ Covid-19 vaccine Test in Africa

Iconic Cameroonian and Ivorian football stars, Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba have vehemently slammed the “racist and contemptuous” comments made by two renowned French doctors on French television who suggested African countries should be used as Guinea Pigs for testing the Covid-19 coronavirus vaccines currently being developed.

“If I can be provocative, shouldn’t we do this study in Africa where there are no masks, no treatment, no resuscitation?” asked Professor Jean-Paul Mira, head of the intensive care unit at the Cochin Hospital in Paris said. “The same as for some AIDS studies where prostitutes try things because we know they’re unprotected.”

In response on the same TV programmes, Professor Camille Locht, a research director at Inserm, replied: “You are right. We are currently thinking in parallel about a study in Africa to make this same type of approach with the BCG. There is a tender process that has gone out or is going to go out. We will seriously think about that.”

It is believed that countries like Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and South Africa may be on the radar of these research groups wanting to test-run the Covid-19 vaccine.

In an angry response to the irksome statement from the French doctors, Eto’o replied said on Twitter: “Sons of bitches,” before adding in a post on Instagram: “You are just SH*T. Africa isn’t yours to play with.”

Drogba also called out the comments as “absurd”, “It is inconceivable that we continue to accept this,” Drogba wrote on Twitter. “Africa is not a laboratory…I strongly denounce these serious, racist and contemptuous remarks!”

“Help us save lives in Africa and stop the spread of this virus which is destabilising the whole world, instead of considering us as guinea pigs. It is absurd!

Drogba charged African leaders to be watchful of the possible experimentation set to be unleashed on their Africans who have the least occurrence of Covid-19 in their countries in comparison to Europe and America. “African leaders have a responsibility to protect people from these heinous plots.”

BCG is only one of the numerous vaccines and antiviral drugs being considered for its potential against coronavirus.