I noticed the missing component is still missing.
Hydroxychloroquine, like Ivermectin, acts as an ionophore. It transports zinc ions across the cell membrane into the cells. If you have plenty of zinc in your system (primary source: red meat), the HCQ or Ivermectin has something to work with, and can get that zinc into your cells. It is the zinc ions which disrupt the viral replication.
Zinc supplements guarantee additional zinc to increase efficacy for those whose zinc levels were low, through diet or other effects, and are commonly in cold and flu remedies, for that reason.
Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic which, aside from acting to fight any opportunistic bacterial infection, also acts to dampen the immune response and prevent that from becoming what is known as a "cytokine storm", where the immune system attacks the body. That's an observed, but not much understood (idiopathic) effect of macrolide antibiotics. Doxycycline, commonly used in concert with Ivermectin and zinc,
In concert the regimen would prevent viral replication in a patient and was most useful at early onset, when there was relatively little damage done, before the virus had reached high titers. it was stressed by Zelenko and others that the combination should be administered as soon as symptoms were noted, without even waiting for the results of tests, with the idea that the benefit of stopping the virus at the earliest opportunity would far outweigh any risks of adverse reactions to the regimen.
In the studies conducted to prove that Hydroxychloroquine was useless, the regimen was administered in the late stages of the disease, to patients already in serious trouble, often with multiple comorbidities which placed the study group at particular risk. NOT ONE of those studies administered zinc supplementation. Most did not administer a macrolide antibiotic. The studies were designed to 'prove' that HCQ was a failure. People died who might have been otherwise saved from COVID to prove a political point, to denigrate a viable regimen, to keep fear going, or other considerations, all removed from good science.
Having listened to Zelenko's explanation of the strategy behind the regimen, as a scientist, I was appalled at the blatant shortcomings of the studies, and the sweeping damnation if the regimen that those studies were used to support.
Even so, that was compounded by the censorship and denigration of the earlier results and methodology undertaken zealously by "Social" Media, the MSM, and the Medical establishment, for the apparent purpose of burying effective treatment options and establishing and continuing draconian measures in the penumbra of terror so heavily promoted by the media and the medical establishment.
Because, with viable, available, and inexpensive treatment, none of the tyranny, "emergency" election rule changes or spending would have been tolerated, and by the time Biden/Harris was the selected pair to headline the Presidential Ticket, the mechanisms to install them in office were in place or being planned to ensure that tainted victory--but in order to pull that off, the levels of FEAR had to be maintained. Masks were a daily reminder (if a useless gesture, medically) that life was not normal, and even the "new normal" was touted to try to get people to accept measures tailor made to ensure people did not gather to discuss the pandemic, politics, worship, or just interact, while the censorship of social media had the same effect in cyberspace.
I do not believe those who unleashed the virus or were familiar with it knew that either Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin, in concert with zinc and antibiotics would prove to be effective treatments, and these regimens would have thwarted their plans, taking the fear out of the equation, negating any perceived need for emergency measures. That's why the treatments were squelched, without regard to lives lost as a result, a clear violation of the Hippocratic oath, and a crime against humanity.
While the 2015 Nature paper noted that the chimera virus created by splicing Bat Corona viruses into a "mouse adapted" SARS backbone were resistant to known antivirals, neither Hydroxychloroquine nor Ivermectin were known as antivirals, but rather, as anti-parasitic drugs primarily, although HCQ was also used in the treatment of Lupus. I think the effect was a surprise for the creators of the virus, whether here or in Wuhan, and I think there are people in both places responsible for the existence of SARS-CoV-2: they made it or did the gain of function research that led to it being made.