Les actions du service de santé des armées face à la crise COVID-19: sur mer et au-delà des mers, toujours au service des hommes !

Abstract

“We are at war!” declared President Emmanuel Macron during a speech to the nation on March 16, 2020. As part of this national resilience, the French Military Medical Service was engaged in the fight against COVID-19. This general review aims to describe and detail the actions undertaken by the French Military Medical Service in the national fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in France, as well as abroad. Experts in each field reported on the major actions taken by the French Military Medical Service during the COVID-19 pandemic in France, both domestically and overseas, beginning in spring 2020. In just a few weeks, the French Military Medical Service developed ad hoc medical capabilities to support the national health authorities. It has also implemented collective medical evacuation capabilities by air and sea. A military field hospital dedicated to intensive care was also deployed to support the civilian hospital in Mulhouse. Later, military intensive care modules helped hospitals overwhelmed by the influx of COVID-19 patients in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Mayotte and New Caledonia. A COVID-19 crisis unit coordinated the actions of the French armed forces in the fight against the pandemic. The French military center for epidemiology and public health provided all the necessary information to guide the public health and medical decision-making processes. Army medical centers organized primary care for military patients, with extensive use of telemedicine. The emergency medical services of the Paris Fire Brigade and the Marseille Marine Fire Battalion provided pre-hospital care for patients with COVID-19. The eight French military training hospitals cooperated with the civilian regional health agencies to provide hospital care for the most severe patients, but also to create de novo vaccination centers. The military medical supply chain has supported all deployments of operational medical units in France and abroad, facing a growing shortage of medical equipment. The Armed forces Biomedical Research Institute performed diagnostics, engaged in multiple research projects, updated the scientific literature review on COVID-19 daily, and provided expert recommendations on biosecurity. Finally, students from the Lyon-Bron military health schools volunteered to participate in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, in an unprecedented medical crisis, the French military medical service engaged in multiple innovative and adaptive actions, which are still ongoing, in the fight against COVID-19. Collaboration between military and civilian health systems has reinforced the common goal of “saving the most.”.