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.

Whether or not you have had COVID, you may be able to participate in RECOVER research.

Find and join a RECOVER study

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.

Get more information about Long COVID.

People are joining the search for answers.

Thousands of children and adults - including pregnant people - have joined RECOVER studies. People with and without COVID can help us learn why and how Long COVID affects some people and not others. With your help, we can learn about the long-term impact of COVID on many different people.

Find and join a RECOVER study

RECOVER Enrollment Summary

Active Enrollment in RECOVER Observational Studies

Last updated:

Goal: 15,039
Adult Enrollment (non-Pregnant)
Goal: 2,451
Pregnant Adult Enrollment
Goal: 6,000
Pediatric Enrollment

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.

American Indian or Alaska Native
2.5
times more likely to go to the hospital
Black or African American
2.1
times more likely to go to the hospital
Hispanic or Latino
1.9
times more likely to go to the hospital
Asian
0.7
times more likely to go to the hospital
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

We learn more when we work together.

Groups involved with RECOVER: Health care providers, Researchers, Caregivers, People with Long COVID Symptoms, Supporting Organizations, Policymakers.

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.

Learn how RECOVER research works

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.

February 16, 2023Publication
NIH RECOVER research identifies potential long COVID disparities

Black and Hispanic Americans appear to experience more symptoms and health problems related to long COVID, a lay term that captures an array of symptoms and health problems, than white people, but are not as likely to be diagnosed with the condition, according to new research funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings – from two different studies by NIH’s Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative – add to a growing body of research aimed to better understand the complex symptoms and other issues associated with long COVID that millions have experienced. Read the full news release.

NIH.gov
October 31, 2022Announcement
RECOVER program takes first steps in advancing toward clinical trials to better understand Long COVID

The NIH RECOVER initiative is preparing several clinical trials to evaluate treatments to improve symptoms related to post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) or Long COVID. A trial protocol recently posted to ClinicalTrials.gov is in the final stages of development and approvals, and is expected to begin enrolling participants in early 2023. This trial is one of several that will test a variety of treatments for Long COVID.

recoverCOVID.org
June 7, 2022Publication
NIH Director’s Blog: Using AI to Advance Understanding of Long COVID Syndrome

One of the most puzzling aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic is understanding why some people who have short-term COVID later develop new symptoms. Or they may continue to have symptoms while also developing new ones. These Long COVID symptoms can vary a lot from person to person, which makes it hard to understand why some people are more likely to have Long COVID. In this blog post, NIH Director Lawrence Tabak, DDS, PhD, discusses an important new RECOVER study published in The Lancet Digital Health that used artificial intelligence computer models to help unravel this mystery.

NIH Director's Blog
May 16, 2022Publication
RECOVER Publication: Scientists use Electronic Health Records and Machine Learning to Better Define Long COVID

In a study published in The Lancet Digital Health, Pfaff and colleagues used electronic health record (EHR) data to find more than 100,000 likely cases of Long COVID in an EHR database of more than 13 million people.

The study findings will help researchers understand the characteristics and risk factors linked to Long COVID diagnosis and will also help identify potential Long COVID patients for clinical trials.

NIH.gov

Explore COVID-19 Resources

Find COVID-19 research information and resources.

CARING for Children with COVID Initiative: Learn about NIH's COVID-19 research priorities with children. External link.
NIH Community Engagement Alliance: Find information to help reach communities hardest hit by the pandemic. External link.
Post-COVID Conditions: Information for Healthcare Providers: Find information to help treat patients. External link.
NIH Long COVID Page: Access NIH Long COVID resources, including interactive symptom information. External link.
CDC's COVID-19 Resources: Access CDC's resources on COVID-19. External link.
Vaccines.gov: Find a COVID-19 vaccination site near you. External link.
Test to Treat: US Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response COVID-19 Test to Treat locator. External link.
Temas de Salud: COVID-19: Find Spanish-language COVID-19 resources. External link.
Find observational and tissue pathology studies near you at:
studies.recoverCOVID.org
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