COVID-19 Research and Activities at NIH CREDIT: NIAID Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Director Francis Collins, in his “all staff” email, acknowledges that election week brings a level of uncertainty and, during an expanding pandemic, it brings a whole new level of anxiety. He also encourages employees to nurture their health and wellbeing, both mental and physical. November 9: A NIH multicenter, blinded, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial conducted at 34 U.S. hospitals and involving 479 patients finds that hydroxychloroquine does not benefit adults hospitalized with COVID-19. (