https://pjmedia.com/columns/stacey-lennox/2020/06/29/remdesivir-gets-a-price-tag-of-3210-despite-showing-no-evidence-of-decreasing-covid-19-deaths-n586084
EXCERPT:
Hydroxychloroquine
Another drug that costs a fraction of what remdesivir does is hydroxychloroquine. It is used in combination with azithromycin and zinc. This drug was highly politicized early in the pandemic because the president expressed hope that it could be effective.
At that time, doctors in the United States who were using the drug combination were clear. It should be used early in the infection, especially in those in high-risk groups. However, the emergency use authorization given by the FDA provided the drug to individuals suffering from severe disease. As discussed above, many of these patients are suffering from a complex, multi-system illness that requires more than a drug combination that slows viral replication.
However, Yale researcher Harvey Risch, M.D., Ph.D., has done a review of studies where the drug combination was used in an outpatient setting. Five studies, including two controlled clinical trials in process, convinced him to conclude in his abstract (emphasis mine):
Hydroxychloroquine+azithromycin has been used as standard-of-care in more than 300,000 older adults with multicomorbidities, with estimated proportion diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmias attributable to the medications 47/100,000 users, of which estimated mortality is <20%, 9/100,000 users, compared to the 10,000 Americans now dying each week. These medications need to be widely available and promoted immediately for physicians to prescribe.