[monkeyshine]

Indeed, it was politics not science or medicine that drove the anti HCQ/IVM narrative. And politics includes money. A quick fix for the virus would have made the pandemic irrelevant, bolster Trump, and make nobody any money. Plus the people “in charge” would get no added powers over society, medicine, people and daily life.

[Phlyer]

Indeed, it was politics not science or medicine that drove the anti HCQ/IVM narrative.

Exactly. I read a paper not long after the whole COVID panic started (in fact, a very short time, like in March of 2020 which makes you wonder how they could get the data so quickly . . . unless they knew it was coming). It was the only place - even today - where I have seen the disease mechanism described.

The main disease progress was for COVID to break down hemoglobin in red blood cells, then break down the heme that is the actual iron-carrying element and occupy the porphorin in it with a COVID protein. The COVID protein has a greater affinity for HCQ (to use the article's abbreviation) than for the hemoglobin porphorin, which helps keep the patient alive (because his blood can still carry oxygen) and interrupts the COVID disease progression.

This is treating the symptom rather than stopping the virus before it ever gets started, but it keeps the patient alive (until he is so late stage that there isn't enough hemoglobin left to keep him alive) until natural defenses can overcome the virus.

I have no explanation for why the actual disease mechanism had *never* been discussed in general sources except one: It was never about the science/medicine. It was always about power.