Fauci is a serious, intelligent infectious disease expert, an accomplished research scientist who understands the scientific method. He has extensive disease in studying viral disease. He more than anyone would be delighted if this apparent observation that chloroquine/Zithromax somehow is effective in treating COVID-19 infection. Yet he knows the through experience the fragility of antidotal data. Prospective and double blind studies must be completed to establish the validity, safety and effectiveness of any therapeutic regimen or vaccine. It takes time and study.
Yet that is not to say that some of the greatest advances in medicine and science have been made by ethical Edisonian empiricism. Trump is right to get excited about chloroquine/Zithromax. Fauci has a duty to be skeptical and do the hard , tedious science.
If this treatment with chloroquine/Zithromax is effective in patients with symptomatic COVID-19 infection before they go into respiratory failure, then it will prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed. It is right to hope and be optimistic but not foolishly blissful.
The drugs could be highly effective at preventing asymptomatic patients from getting mild symptoms.
I actually agree with you on this. But Fauci’s behavior in all of this has been highly-questionable.
btt
Excellent post
“Fauci is a serious, intelligent infectious disease expert, an accomplished research scientist who understands the scientific method.”
He may be all of those things, but he is a politician first, having been in his political post for almost 40 years.