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That's worth considering. I haven't found anywhere that this was stated either way, but now I know to look out for it.

He's not playing games as far as I can tell. He is stating up front his tracking parameters and showing both scenarios right next to each other. How is showing the two data cohorts next to each other "playing games"?

The average length of time in the ICU is 12 days for COVID-19. The average length of time in the ICU for a patient who ends up dying due to COVID-19 is 28 days. So, yes, he is saying that if he gets a patient so far gone that he can't make it 3 days on this treatment (e.g. on the 24th day of stay in ICU), he is not going to count him in his efficacy cohort as having undergone the treatment. That's perfectly fine and it's a common practice by people doing studies so long if that is clear up-front, which it is.

Further, this perfectly coincides with his samples he has shown in his previous studies where the hydroxychloroquine and azythromycin combination does not really begin to do all that better in reducing the virus markers compared to the control group until day 3 where it really begins to take effect.

So, yes, he is saying that if he gets a patient so far gone that he can't make it 3 days on this treatment (e.g. on the 24th day of stay in ICU), he is not going to count him in his efficacy cohort as having undergone the treatment.

I get it. If the subject is so far gone that basically no medication will work (i.e. he has less than a couple days or even hours to live), I would guess counting that subject would actually decrease the reliability of the clinical test, which is supposed to be determining whether administering to those with mild to first-onset of symptoms will prevent lengthy hospitalization in the first place.

I still have yet to see somebody say "well, we gave him hydroxy, he died anyway". Not saying that hasn't happened, but I feel like the media would be blasting it everywhere (like they have for the fish tank chemical eaters) if it did.

Where's this story: "guy came in with shortness of breath, tested positive for COVID, was given hydroxychloroquine + azithro, he got worse, he died? Even just "he got worse, ended up on a ventilator". I haven't seen it.