Prescription for defeating COVID-19 is to keep an open mind

And, when Dr. Marlow Hernandez called NBC News a few weeks ago to report some success he was having in using the medicine to treat patients with COVID-19, the Miami-based physician would probably not have been shuffled off by the person at the other end of the line who didn't seem all that interested in what he scoffed at as "Trump's drug."

Say, what's the cure for journalistic malpractice? Answer: The truth.

As someone who lives, works and plays at the maddening intersection of media and politics, I envy those who have little interest in either. I admire the way they see a problem and look for a practical solution without concern for who gets the credit, how to spin the blame or how it will play in Peoria.

Sometimes, those people are cops, or farmers, or teachers. They're normal people with normal jobs.

And sometimes, they are doctors at the front lines of the war against a deadly and mercurial enemy that seems to know a lot more about us and our bodies than we know about it -- or how to kill it.

Hernandez couldn't care less about politics or the media. He just wants to find a way to preserve the health of the 60,000 patients served by Cano Health, the health management company he founded 11 years ago to treat the underserved, and which has now grown to include 46 medical centers, more than 100 physicians and 1,300 staff members.

The underserved includes the group whose welfare has, as of late, been keeping Hernandez up at night - Hispanic patients who are also elderly and so at greater risk of being infected by COVID-19. Most of his patients are 65 years or older.

"The research will eventually catch up, and we will find out which therapies are the most effective," Hernandez said. "But we don't have the luxury of waiting. And if we can use medicines with an acceptable safety profile and a set protocol that can potentially give a better outcome to a patient in consultation with a physician who understands that individual and their medical history, I believe it could make a big impact."

Hernandez said that even before Trump mentioned hydroxychloroquine, and the FDA approved its use, he gave it to his patients together with antibiotics. About 100 of them had showed symptoms for COVID-19. According to Hernandez, All the patients showed signs of improvement.

Is this a miracle drug -- or a mirage? We don't know. We need to find out. So let the conversation continue. Shame on anyone who tries to stifle it.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.