so, these drugs that trump is pushing for covid-19...

i'm starting to piece together a more coherent narrative. they're conducting trials; i stated that what i want to see is a mechanism, regarding just exactly how it is that they expect an antibiotic to eliminate a virus from the system. you can do all the trials in the world, you'll get lucky pretty often given the low mortality rate, but you're not going to convince me of anything until you explain to me how it actually works.

it turns out that my skepticism was well-grounded, and nobody wants to use the drug to directly treat the virus at all. rather, the potential for the drugs is as use as immunosuppressors to combat septic shock, which is apparently a leading technical cause of actual death, related to this outbreak. this is similar to how the drug is used in lupus patients, lupus being an autoimmune disorder where your body goes into something like septic shock repeatedly.

changing the context of the use of the drug clarifies a lot of the hype around it, in cutting through the media babble. it does indeed make no sense to prescribe this drug as a treatment for this virus, at all, but it may eventually be a necessary tool that doctors need to use in patients that are suffering from severe sepsis as a complication.

with that subtlety in the drug's predicted use clarified, a few things should be immediately apparent:

- taking the drug as a precaution, as though it's some kind of magic potion, will, as magic potions often sadly tend to do, actually make you more susceptible, because it's intended use is as an immunosuppressor. if you're relatively healthy, and you take these drugs as a "precaution", they will actually weaken your immune system. that's their medical use - it's the actual intent.

- as such, there is no long term potential for this drug in therapeutic use for patients not experiencing sepsis. so, you should not ask your doctor to prescribe you this drug if you get sick. if your doctor does give you this drug on request after confirming a diagnosis, they should be charged with malpractice, as they should damned well know it's an immunosuppressor, and they damned well know you're infected.

- if your doctor does prescribe you this drug in good faith, you will be struggling for your life when it happens.

understanding this better both clarifies the actual medical use of the drug in context, and clarifies the really depraved behaviour of the president around this. it's actually better if he really doesn't know what he's saying, but i suspect that's less true than anybody wants to acknowledge; this is an immunosuppressor, it's used as an immunosuppressor, and people are going to needlessly die by mass prescribing it.

is this insanity and incompetence or greed-fueled malevolence?

it's a scary question.

but, i'm glad i understand this better, now.