As an epidemiologist trained to make causal inference, especially from observations, I feel strongly that there is an urgent need for an open and honest debate on the ability of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to save lives. I had not paid much attention to discussions related to the efficacy of pharmacological interventions in the treatment of Covid-19 patients until I read an op-ed by Yale University epidemiology professor Dr. Harvey A. Risch in Newsweek in early August, as well as Dr. Risch’s other writings on the matter. Until then, I had focused largely on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) incorrect scientific advice, on which the current mainstream media the Covid-19 pandemic narrative is based. This narrative unjustifiably characterizes the Covid-19 pandemic as akin to the horrendous 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Despite my skepticism about the dire claims as to the severity of this pandemic and my increasing doubts about whether Covid-19 is a genuine pandemic and about the presumption that the human population lacks any immunity against SARS-CoV-2, I would certainly welcome all available improvements in our ability to successfully treat Covid-19 patients.
