The antiviral medication remdesivir has played a controversial role in the COVID-19 treatment protocols used by hospitals that many families allege resulted in the death of their loved ones. Among the drug's potential side effects is acute kidney failure, which many physicians argue is the source of the same symptom reported by the medical establishment to have been caused by COVID-19.

The US National Institutes of Health said the trial will involve hospitalised adults diagnosed with the disease and is taking place at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. It is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).