San Antonio – A local clinic hopes to get remdisivir, the FDA-approved treatment option for COVID-19, approved for use outside of the hospital setting.

“We want to be able to have this treatment available to people as soon as they get sick, so we can actually prevent them from needing to go to the hospital,” said Dr. Erika Gonzalez, CEO of the South Texas Allergy and Asthma Medical Professionals or STAAMP Allergy.

Currently, remedisivir is being used as a treatment for COVID-19 patients only in the hospital.

“Remdesivir is an antiviral drug, meaning it’s something that specifically fights viruses. We’ve had this around for a long time. Previously, it was used for treatment of Hepatitis C. They used it in Ebola. They also used it when SARS came out. And so we know it works well with some viruses to prevent it from replicating,” Gonzalez said.

STAAMP Allergy is conducting a study focused on learning more about remdesivir.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug as a treatment for COVID-19 in October.

“It’s approved to be used in a hospital, so now they’re trying to get to the approval so that it can be used outside of the hospital setting,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said there are about 60 sites across the United States participating in the study.

“We’re trying to identify people who have tested positive for coronavirus, who may have some type of risk factor, so that can be anything from obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, any chronic condition. If you’re older than 60, that already qualifies you as higher risk,” Gonzalez said.

The clinical trial is being sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gonzalez said other studies show the drug has been helping patients.

“It does reduce the length of either hospitalization stay or treatment progression of symptoms almost by about a week. So we are seeing people, especially if they were intubated, have a shorter amount of periods of requiring to be on the ventilator if they are giving this treatment,” Gonzalez said.

The trial is free to patients who participate.

Gonzalez said they will monitor people who participate in the study for at least six months.

For more information on the study, click here.

A San Antonio allergy center is one of six U.S. research clinics offering free trial medication that may mitigate the lethal impacts of COVID-19. South Texas Allergy and Asthma Medical Professionals (STAAMP) is offering offering brand name anticoagulant Xarelto for free to patients who test positive for coronavirus and have an underlying risk factor, KSAT reports.

The medication, provided through the Bill and Melinda Gates Research Institute, could be useful in stopping deadly blood clots, according to STAAMP President and CEO Dr. Erika Gonzalez.

"We know from the beginning that [COVID-19] is an inflammatory disease," Gonzalez said in an interview with the TV station. "One of the things that it does in the process is increase the risk of clotting."

Fighting the deadly affects of COVID-19 moved beyond a professional pursuit after Gonzalez's mother died from the coronavirus at age 69, seemingly healthy and with no underlying health conditions, KSAT reports. "Especially seeing how it affected my family and how quickly my mom got sick and unfortunately passed away from that, I always feel like it's better to err on the side of being conservative," she said. By treating people early with Xarelto, Gonzalez told the station she hopes they can avoid hospitalization. Patients who meet the criteria can call STAAMP at (210) 980-7711 to participate. Those who qualify will receive a telemedicine exam. The clinic will send the medication and trial materials to the patient's home.