Can you fit hydroxychloroquine on a bumper sticker?  How about a campaign poster?

Someone may try given the fact this heretofore little-known anti-malaria drug is now in the middle of a political debate.

It’s at the center of a medical debate as well, but it’s the politicians who are driving the bus here – at least publicly.

Donald Trump has been a booster of the drug as a cure, or even a vaccine, for the coronavirus. And in New Jersey, the main proponent has been state Sen. Joe Pennacchio of Morris County who,
coincidentally, co-chairs the president’s New Jersey campaign.

And then there’s Rik Mehta, a Republican senate candidate hoping to unseat Cory Booker.

In a recent release, Mehta condemned Bob Menendez and Bill Pascrell for criticizing the FDA for “fast tracking” the drug’s review. Mehta said their actions were “dangerous and irresponsible.”

Mehta, of course, is running against Booker, not Menendez. But why worry about the small details when you have a point to make? And Mehta does have some credibility here; he is a former FDA official in regard to medical policy.

And just today Craig Wax, a Gloucester County osteopathic specialist, tweeted at the governor, urging Phil Murphy to stop hurting New Jersey COVID-19 patients. His point is that patients are being harmed by not having access to the drug early in their treatment.

Wax and other supporters of hydroxychloroquine contend it can prevent people from getting the virus in the first place. Right now in New Jersey, the drug can be used by patients suffering from the disease and in a recent change, by an at-risk population  in nursing home and similar facilities.

For proponents of the drug, that’s not good enough. They say anyone who wants it should be able to use it.

The “other side” of the argument here is a simple one – the drug is untested for COVID-19 patients. A search of the Internet reveals stories supporting both points of view.

Positive trials of the drug around the world are reported, as are negative ones. Some doctors have been reported as saying their virus patients improved after taking the drug, but they say it’s hard to know if hydroxychloroquine was the reason. There are side effects, but some supporters say this is true with just about any drug, aspirin included.

The politics clearly has broken along Democratic and Republican or, if you prefer, liberal and conservative, lines.

Some of this can’t be logically explained, although, generally speaking, those on the right seem more anxious to “open” the country as soon as possible than those on the left.

This pandemic – hopefully – will run its course.

But the politics over a drug that’s hard to pronounce, hard to spell and probably can’t fit on a bumper sticker is likely just beginning.