The first trial is a registry trial for patients who have COVID-19. Inpatients can receive hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin, and outpatients can receive just the hydroxychloroquine.

The second trial is a randomized clinical trial for patients who have been exposed to COVID-19, including health care workers, who would receive either the placebo or the drug on a random basis.

Those at high risk, older than 60 or have chronic medical conditions who have been exposed to COVID-19 could also be part of this randomized trial.

“The outpatient clinical trials are the 2,000 we want to treat,” Suttle said. “The inpatient and the outpatient that have COVID-19, we can treat as many patients as needed in that registry trial, so there’s not a limitation to how many of those are positive with the disease that we can treat. What we really want to find out is does this medication work?”

Suttle said the drug is taken similar to a Z-Pack, which is a drug containing the antibiotic azithromycin and stays in the body from 30 to 50 days.