I don’t know whether hydroxychloroquine works or not and neither does anyone else. The evidence is, thus far, sketchy and more work needs to be done. Properly administered, it seems, there’s no need to deny it to COVID patients and, who knows, it might even work.

Having said that, I think there is a risk that the argument over using it is just another Russian active measure campaign. Here’s why. Several weeks ago, before this heated up, an acquaintance who’s a recent immigrant from Russia, started talking to me about the drug. He told me

Russian media, which he listened to in the mornings, was talking extensively about hydrocholorquine as a miracle cure and how the US was deliberately denying access to it. Not long after, Trump started talking about it publicly. It wouldn’t be the first time our “president”

Had adopted a Russian talking point. Now the issue is embedded in social and regular media. I see Bernard Kerik tweeting about it and the disinformation anchors on Fox pushing it as well. The Russians are, as usual, sowing chaos through disinformation. Wait for the science.