>>I've been working for about 25 years in healthcare and have been involved in WHO studies and data analysis for private clinics. I've provided data analysis for people getting their PHD and publishing research papers. I know how difficult it is to draw the right conclusions from looking at data...

This is a good example of the difficulties of constructing a double blind trial when patients demanding the drug would refuse to participate in a trial that might give them placebo. Observational studies also show bias (using statistical definition) through patients who are dying being given desperation cocktails of drugs so you can't distinguish what did work, or didn't.

FWIW, I took chloroquine antimalarials in the 1980s in Africa. Didn't like the mlld side effects, but there was chloroquine resistance in the Zambesi Valley and the other drug for that was worse. Of course Malaria would have been worse still.