re: Just to clear up some confusion with regards to the Omicron variant

Viruses mutate as they replicate. Since replication requires duplication of genetic material and they are hijacking the host cellular functions, the quality of the duplication can become low, hence mutations. Sometimes these mutations can impact function, like being more or less infective, but also more or less severe. In Omicron case, it is more infectious, but less severe.
Now, whether or not Ivemectin or HCQ is effective is hard to say based on the quality of the data. For instance, Gilead had one trial, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04292899, which enrolled 4891 patients over 183 clinical sites in right at a month, entire study was completed in 3 months. So they had to work out the logistics of getting 183 contracts done, how to get drug delivered, get through IRB/ethics committees, get FDA buy-in to a protocol. Not to mention the costs for the data base, each site start up and each per patient cost. So NIH, CDC, DOD, or even large HMO, heck even a state, could conduct a study as the Ivemectin and HCQ are generic, but they don't want to do it, can't do it in a timely manner, or pay for it. Government agencies tend to work on a much longer timeline and get lots of input. That is a hurdle to rapid data acquition, which is needed during a pandemic.
Congress could give companies the right to extend a patent if they do a study to expand the label to a novel indication, but they want cheap generics ASAP, so there is no incentive to do studies with generics. This will ultimately cause agents which are active in disease to not be used because of lack of high quality data.