Non politically, I wonder if there might be a reason why certain people wouldn’t want to accept this as true.
Added caveat that I have no personal expertise to determine whether it is, but the author seems to have pretty good credentials.
Personally, I would be extremely happy if it turned out that hydroxychloroquine was effective for COVID19. I think almost everyone would. I thank knowell for posting the Newsweek article, as I found it interesting to read.
The problem with this guy's take is that he puts a lot of emphasis on poorly designed studies (which show benefit), and he puts little emphasis on the well-designed studies (which showed harm). This is why his opinion is contrary to most treating physicians. He would argue that the well-designed studies looked at hydroxy in later stages of COVID, and that in earlier stages there may be benefit. Fortunately, there are several studies that are looking at this question (early treatment), so hopefully we'll have clear answers soon.