“I always thought that viruses were impossible to kill.”
The problem is to kill the virus without harming the patient.
My understanding of the Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine is that it interferes with the ability of the virus to replicate. When that happens the bodies own defenses can take care of the virus.
Viruses are not cells, so not “alive” in that sense. But your immune system attacks and destroys cells infected by them if your immune system understands them. Viruses do not reproduce without cells they invade. Hydroxycholorquine does all kinds of things to make life difficult and improbable for the virus. When its reproduction rate isn’t high enough, the immune system can catch up and eliminate it. But if the virus reproduces faster than the immune system can kill it, you have problems.
Your immune system kills them. However your immune system needs time. Your body has to randomly produce antibodies in response to the virus. Once one antibody is able to attach to a virus immune cells can then destroy the virus and the antibody that attaches is now ramped up by the immune system. If your immune system can do that faster than the virus can cause damage you have a mild course. If not you can die.
The 2 medications mentioned seem to interfere with various parts of the virus lifecycle and/or our inflammatory response that leads down the path to ARDS(acute respiratory distress syndrome). With diminished replication and your inflammatory response under control your immune system has time to destroy and clear the virus from your system.
There is a nice review of the immune system cira 2000 in the NEJM.
The Immune System - Part 1
The Immune System - Part 2
Sorry that it requires a subscription.