The lupus argument is partially valid. You certainly don’t want to run into a situation where people that need it regularly cannot fulfill their prescriptions. Much like diabetics with insulin.
However, now we are talking numbers and subjective/selective who can get one drug over another. HCQ is a generic drug at this point, it’s been around for 65 years. If it was effective, it can be mass produced if there was ever a scenario that it was necessary. Secondly, the overwhelming majority of people who get covid are not at risk. We knew then, as we do now, who’s at risk- elderly, obese, and/or people with severe co-morbidities. So, i cannot see how initially at least the concern for those who have lupus would have been threatened. And if that was a concern, you use the above protocols of who should be prioritized for the drug- old, obese, co-morbid, etc. the decision should have been with the patient And doctor. Not from fed, state, local govt or just random pharmacists who refused to do it. My next problem, is that if we were limiting who does and doesn’t get let into our hospitals that we’re overflowing with people early on, then why wouldn’t we exhaust every available treatment? HCQ used for lupus, malaria, and a handful of other reasons, was showing promise, with little to no negative reactions. We knew then when to use it, when not to. If we were having hospital capacity and we were prioritizing covid over other patients, then those other patients with other issues weren’t getting seen. Many cancer patients were not getting the treatments, diagnosis, etc early enough because of this reason. So by the same logic you used about HCQ for lupus patients, I’d use 10 fold on the hospitalization rates and who could see their doctors for other issues and couldn’t because only covid patients were being seen. It’s the same thing. Neither are right because patients are getting screwed on one end or the other.
The way it was handled was avoidable and disturbing.