RECOVER: Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) created the RECOVER Initiative to learn about the long-term effects of COVID.
The goal of RECOVER is to rapidly improve our understanding of and ability to predict, treat, and prevent PASC (post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2), including Long COVID.
Learn more about Long COVID
People are joining the search for answers.
RECOVER is a first of its kind research initiative created specifically to address the widespread and diverse impacts of Long COVID. Thousands of children and adults - including pregnant people - have joined RECOVER studies.
RECOVER Cohort Studies
Observational cohort studies involve large groups of people, participating over several years. These cohort studies do not give a treatment or medicine to participants or change their regular health care.
RECOVER Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are studies in which participants take a study drug, use a medical device, or try other approaches to help researchers learn about how the intervention affects health problems. RECOVER clinical trials may help find ways to treat Long COVID symptoms.
Additional RECOVER Research
RECOVER's robust national research network also includes electronic health records studies, pathobiology studies, and tissue pathology studies.
RECOVER Enrollment Summary
Active Enrollment in Observational Cohort StudiesLast updated: March 13, 2023
New! RECOVER Publications: Sharing Science to Find Answers
RECOVER researchers and clinicians have published and are preparing dozens of manuscripts. See the Publications page for the current list.
We’re learning by listening to people like you.
To understand Long COVID, we need to hear from people who’ve experienced it and people who had COVID and recovered quickly. You can help us learn about the long-term effects of COVID — so we can find ways to prevent and treat them.
Learn how patients, caregivers, and community members can participate in RECOVER
We’re learning by including diverse perspectives.
Including people of all races and ethnicities, genders, ages, and locations in our research helps us understand how Long COVID affects everyone and gives us insight into who may benefit from different approaches to treating Long COVID. RECOVER is searching for answers to help everyone affected by the long-term effects of COVID.
Learn more about how RECOVER partners with patients and communities across the US
Millions of people have had COVID-19 — and in many ways, people of color have been hit hardest.
Studies show that some groups and communities are more likely to go to the hospital for health issues related to COVID-19. This is because people don't have equal access to health care and information about COVID. And some people live or work in places where they are more likely to catch COVID-19.
We learn more when we work together.
We learn more when we work together.
Teamwork is at the heart of RECOVER. Researchers, health care professionals, and organizations across the country are working together to find answers and treatments that help those with Long COVID. The task of predicting, treating, and preventing Long COVID requires people from many different disciplines working together because the mystery of Long COVID crosses over many different areas of medicine and biology.
More than
500 million
people around the world have had COVID. It’s possible that millions of them could have long-term health effects.
RECOVER News and Events
Learn about our latest research, upcoming events, and more.
RECOVER research data are now available from the JAMA publication, "Development of a Definition of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection", published on May 25, 2023. The data are available as a de-identified datafile consistent with the NIH data sharing policy. Individuals who would like to access the datafile must review the Data Use/Sharing Principles and Code of Conduct for the RECOVER Data Gateway and complete the datafile request form. Once the form is complete, requests will be reviewed and additional information to obtain the data will be provided to requestors.
A research team that includes RECOVER researchers found 3 changes in the immune system of people with Long COVID. In a study supported by NIH and the RECOVER Initiative, researchers tested blood drawn from 268 people with and without Long COVID. The data suggest that these 3 types of changes may contribute to Long COVID. These results could help inform tests and treatments for Long COVID. The journal Nature has published the study’s complete findings.
RECOVER-NEURO, a clinical trial examining how different interventions can help people with symptoms of cognitive dysfunction related to long COVID, has enrolled its first participant. RECOVER-NEURO is part of the RECOVER initiative, and all RECOVER clinical trials are coordinated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). This Phase 2 trial will focus on possible treatments to improve working memory, attention, executive functions, and information processing speed for people who have Long COVID.
RECOVER-VITAL, a clinical trial examining if the antiviral PAXLOVID (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) improves symptoms for people who have long COVID, has enrolled its first participant. RECOVER-VITAL is part of the RECOVER initiative and all RECOVER clinical trials are coordinated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). Researchers believe that viral persistence (when the virus that causes COVID-19 stays in the body and causes damage to organs or the immune system to not function properly) may cause long COVID symptoms.
Explore COVID-19 Resources
Find COVID-19 research information and resources.
