COVID-19 trial lead researcher explains why an antibiotic might work.

KARACHI -- A trial from UCSF, called ACTION, looks at the potential of Azithromycin in treating COVID-19. Study co-lead Catherine Oldenburg, Sc.D., explains its whys and hows. The trial - called Azithromycin for COVID-19 Treatment, Investigating Outpatients Nationwide, or ACTION for short - will involve human participants, and the researchers started recruiting on May 26, 2020. Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment. To learn more about the trial, and understand why the researchers chose to study Azithromycin, despite specialists typically advising against antibiotics in the treatment of COVID-19,

Medical News Today spoke to one of the trial's principal investigators, Catherine Oldenburg, Sc.D., an infectious disease epidemiologist. Azithromycin is very safe; it's prescribed all the time for all...