Arm chair medical scientist chiming in here.
I agree with you to a point about action against viruses. But here's where I diverge a bit. No doubt a cell will not produce "viral" particles when zinc enters the cell and disrupts their synthesis, hence an obvious mechanism whereby HCQ stops "viral infections". However, I am not totally convinced viruses are "pathogenic". I think viruses may be a cellular signaling or "program update" mechanism. Thus shutting down "viral" (exosome?) production is actually secondary to removing a real but hidden pathogen.
HCQ is effective against intracellular pathogens, I believe. We know it works agains the malaria parasite, but what if it also works against "bugs" that we don't know we have? For example, HCQ is effective against lupus apparently. Lupus is called an "autoimmune" disease. What if lupus is actually caused by an "invisible" pathogen hiding out in cells?
Its been months now, but anon posted a video about an elegant theory regarding "coronavirus" and point of use generation of Vitamin C in bats. The mechanism involved signaling between a "virus" and a bacteria (Prevotella).
There seems to be a one-two punch going on in people who develop cytokine storm and/or auto-immunity. The immune system itself is damaged allowing a deranged and highly destructive response to a real pathogen. The initial immune system destruction is usually caused by a vaccine or vaccines I think.
Please feel free to comment. My ideas are a mix of things I've learned from others and I know I don't have it all.