isn't it faked ? I mean the study removed 1 dead and 3 patients sent to intensive care from the study, all in the 26 patient test group, and the control group was fine...

Macrolides and azalides including azithromycin have certain immunomodulatory characteristics within the lung, including those involving some pro-inflammatory cytokines and diminishment of white cell migration. This has been noted with the benefits of advanced macrolides in asthma and bronchiectasis. This may reduce the damaging nature of the aggressive immune response seen with COVID-19, perhaps in advance of worsening pulmonary function. Specific hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin interactions that create further pharmacodynamic and immunological benefit need to be evaluated.

study of HCQ-AZ combination therapy should be prioritized as rapidly as possible.

Hydroxychloroquine alone or with Azithromycin for COVID-19: No benefit but increased risk

No significant benefit with Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin either alone or in combination on in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients in USA. However, increased risk of prolonged QT-interval with risk of ventricular arrhythmias.

References

Association of Treatment With Hydroxychloroquine or Azithromycin With In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With COVID-19 in New York State

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2766117

Observational Study of Hydroxychloroquine in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2012410

Risk of QT Interval Prolongation Associated With Use of Hydroxychloroquine With or Without Concomitant Azithromycin Among Hospitalized Patients Testing

Positive for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32356863

Is HCQ effective and safe for COVID-19 treatment? Yes! But the timewindow (

Hydroxychloroquine is not effective and safe for treatment of COVID-19.

https://smj.org.sa/content/42/3/342

Data from large retrospective observational studies do not consistently show evidence of a benefit for hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Conversely, a large retrospective cohort study reported a survival benefit among hospitalized patients who received either hydroxychloroquine alone or hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin, compared to those who received neither drug. Many of the observational studies that have evaluated the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine in patients with COVID-19 have attempted to control for confounding variables. However, study arms may be unbalanced in some of these studies, and some studies may not account for all potential confounding factors. These factors limit the ability to interpret and generalize the results from observational studies; therefore, results from these studies are not as definitive as those from large randomized trials. Given the lack of a benefit seen in the randomized clinical trials and the potential for toxicity, using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without azithromycin to treat COVID-19 in hospitalized patients was recommended against. In addition, the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin is associated with QTc prolongation in patients with COVID-19. Given the long half-lives of both azithromycin (up to 72 hours) and hydroxychloroquine (up to 40 days), caution is warranted even when the two drugs are used sequentially instead of concomitantly.

Use of a regimen containing hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine (with or without a macrolide) is associated with no evidence of benefit, but instead was associated with an increase in the risk of ventricular arrhythmias and a greater hazard for in-hospital death with COVID-19.

Article Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolid...

Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin alone or combined do not block SARS-CoV-2 replication in human bronchial airway epithelia.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166354221002023