Reviewing RECOVER’s impact in 2024

RECOVER research continues to inform the U.S. government’s overall response to Long COVID, as detailed in a report issued by the U.S. Office of Long COVID Research and Practice. And in February, the NIH dedicated an additional $515 million over the next four years to support the RECOVER’s ongoing work. Additional funding will bring total new funding for RECOVER to $662 million. With this investment, RECOVER will continue to lead Long COVID research through observational studies and clinical trials, improving scientific understanding and treatment of the long-term effects of COVID.

RECOVER launches new clinical trials to search for treatments

RECOVER launched six clinical trials in 2024 including:

• 2 trials within RECOVER-AUTONOMIC, which are studying potential treatments that may help manage Long COVID symptoms including dizziness, fast heart rate, and shortness of breath.
• 2 trials within RECOVER-SLEEP, which are testing potential treatments that may help manage changes in sleep patterns associated with Long COVID.
• 2 trials within RECOVER-ENERGIZE, which are testing potential treatments that may help manage exhaustion and exercise intolerance.

These trials continue to enroll participants. If you are interested in participating in one of these clinical trials, email RECOVERresearch@duke.edu.

Clinical trials in two RECOVER symptom areas reached their enrollment goal and are no longer enrolling participants:

• RECOVER-NEURO, which is testing potential treatments that may help with brain fog (feeling like you can’t think clearly) or memory issues that some people with Long COVID experience. Researchers leading RECOVER-NEURO also published a paper this year describing the study’s purpose and goals.
• RECOVER-VITAL, which is studying whether taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug, for a longer period of time may help improve Long COVID symptoms.

In total, RECOVER is currently conducting 8 clinical trials that are studying 13 potential treatments to help manage 5 symptom areas. While designing the clinical trials, RECOVER worked with Patient, Caregiver, and Community Representatives to better understand which symptom areas patients found the most burdensome.

In August, the NIH announced the next phase of RECOVER, which is called RECOVER - Treating Long COVID (RECOVER-TLC). This effort is focused on clinical trials and finding treatments to help manage Long COVID symptoms. The public is invited to share input on RECOVER-TLC by responding to its request for information by February 1, 2025.

RECOVER continues to learn how Long COVID affects different people

In addition to launching clinical trials, RECOVER continues to learn more about Long COVID through the initiative’s observational studies. RECOVER research published this year advanced understanding of how Long COVID affects different groups of people, including children and pregnant people. In the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), RECOVER researchers defined Long COVID characteristics and symptoms in school-age children and adolescents.

Study participants continue to be instrumental to RECOVER’s success. Not only do they volunteer to participate in studies, but they also agree to share biosamples, such as blood and saliva (spit). These samples become part of the RECOVER Biorepository, a large collection of study samples and data that will help researchers learn more about Long COVID for years to come.

Simultaneously, RECOVER researchers continue to analyze over 60 million electronic health records (EHRs) from three different health system networks. These analyses, which have shed light on potential risk factors for Long COVID, have helped researchers to better understand Long COVID and its wide range of symptoms. Researchers have also used EHRs to build predictive models that can identify people who are at the highest risk of contracting Long COVID.

RECOVER enables data sharing for additional research

This year, RECOVER made study data publicly available for researchers outside of RECOVER. Researchers can now access over 48 million RECOVER datapoints via BioData Catalyst®. The initiative added data from more than 14,000 adults in April and additional data from the pediatric observational study in October.

RECOVER also launched an ancillary studies program. Researchers from both inside and outside of RECOVER can apply to use RECOVER data and biosamples in approved studies.

RECOVER shares new discoveries with the public

Through scientific journals, RECOVER researchers published 36 peer-reviewed manuscripts this year, with 11 of these publications involving pediatric research and another 3 publications focused on pregnant people.

RECOVER’s research publications in 2024 included:

• 7 publications involving pathobiology studies
• 8 review articles
• 1 publication about a clinical trial
• 14 papers involving analysis of electronic health records
• 6 publications from RECOVER’s observational cohorts

Notable RECOVER findings in 2024:

• Common Long COVID symptoms not only differ between children and adults, they also differ between school-age children (aged 6-11) and adolescents (aged 12-17).
• RECOVER researchers found parts of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, in the blood of people with Long COVID. These viral remnants could contribute to Long COVID symptoms.
• To date, there are no clinically validated biomarkers for Long COVID, meaning that routine lab tests are not a helpful tool in diagnosing Long COVID.

Explore RECOVER research summaries for more Long COVID research.

With support from Patient, Caregiver, and Community Representatives, RECOVER launched the Discover RECOVER video series. This series invites RECOVER scientists and Representatives to explain how they are answering important questions about Long COVID. To date, the series has covered pregnancy and Long COVID (Spanish language video available) and Long COVID symptoms in school-age children and adolescents.

RECOVER also continued sharing Long COVID research through the RECOVER Research Review (R3) webinar series. In these monthly webinars, experts present on the latest RECOVER research and scientific collaborations. In 2024, RECOVER held 11 seminars on topics ranging from Long COVID in pregnant people to patterns seen in the electronic health records (EHRs) of people with Long COVID. Over 1,500 different attendees participated in live sessions, including researchers, academics, patients, caregivers, advocates, and representatives from government and health care organizations. Seminar attendance continues to increase, with an average of 257 viewers for each seminar this year.

Access recordings of previous R3 seminars or sign up for email reminders to learn about new R3 seminars.

RECOVER prioritizes diverse representation and community participation

RECOVER invites people with Long COVID, Long COVID caregivers and advocates, and RECOVER study participants to share feedback and experiences that impact the way RECOVER designs and conducts research studies. Study teams also seek to include people from different backgrounds in RECOVER research.

Engagement highlights from 2024 include:

• RECOVER Boston, representing the 7 Boston RECOVER study sites, established a Community Partnership Table to ensure patients and community organizations have a voice and receive education on Long COVID.
• ILLInet RECOVER and RECOVER Boston collaborated with community organizations to host a Long COVID Summit to inform policy decisions, raise awareness about Long COVID, and empower local organizations to better serve community members impacted by Long COVID.
• Teams working on RECOVER clinical trials are using COVID-19 incidence rates, or the number of people diagnosed with COVID-19, as a benchmark for study enrollment. This approach ensures that communities most affected by COVID-19, such as Black and Hispanic/Latino communities, are included in RECOVER research to find potential treatments.
• Dr. Kanecia Zimmerman, principal investigator for the RECOVER Clinical Trials Data Coordinating Center, spoke to The Washington Post about the importance of diversity in clinical trials.
• RECOVER’s National Community Engagement Group (NCEG) launched a Health Equity Subcommittee to ensure everyone has equal access to Long COVID resources and equal opportunities to participate in Long COVID research.
• RECOVER engaged with more than 80 RECOVER Representatives this year in the initiative’s Coordinating Committees and Working Groups. 18 of these Representatives supported RECOVER clinical trials by reviewing and providing feedback on patient-facing materials and study design. They also shared their lived experiences and helped recruit trial participants in their own communities.

Explore how diverse experiences help shape RECOVER research.