Agreed, this kind of thinking comes from fear and desperation (and another kind is denial of reality - this can't be happening so it isn't. My neighbours still don't realise it's actually happening).

If we want to deal with covid we should have started years ago. As ever, we didn't.

They are in a war zone in Italy and presumably in the US very soon. If hydroxychloroquine is safe (except for some people with a known predisposed genetic condition), then we should be giving it widely and early. We can worry about the science and studies later on, but right now we need to save lives and decrease ICU overload.

"no reason to think that they couldn't have done that in the same amount of time with the same amount of effort"

There is EVERY reason to think they were not in a position to a "proper" test. They are in the middle of an epidemic!

> Because this is an emergency we want reliable information.

So much for that given the president was recommending chloroquine to be used off the cuff.

This was done in about a week. Where's an example of a clinical trial to your liking done that quickly?