USA: The RECOVER Initiative - Long Covid research

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Highlighted links from the May 2026 report (from a recent email update)

- RECOVER builds on existing knowledge about how Long COVID can affect the lungs and heart.

RECOVER researchers continue to study how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads through the lungs and eventually impacts other body systems, such as the heart and nervous system.

Difficulty breathing is one of the most common symptoms of Long COVID. However, researchers can’t assume that all patients who have difficulty breathing have problems with only their lungs. “People can have shortness of breath for multiple reasons, including problems with the lungs, heart, bone marrow, and the brain,” said Dr. Krishnan, who is the lead principal investigator for ILLInet, the RECOVER study hub at the University of Illinois Chicago.

- RECOVER continues to accept research proposals for ancillary studies that use data and biosamples collected during RECOVER studies.

RECOVER ancillary studies allow researchers inside and outside of the RECOVER Consortium to answer important questions about Long COVID. These studies may use RECOVER biospecimens (such as blood, saliva, and urine) or combinations of biospecimens and data to answer research questions beyond the main RECOVER study objectives (protocols).

- Participant advisory group at RECOVER hub raises awareness about Long COVID

For the members of the ILLInet PARATROOPers—a participant advisory group at a RECOVER study hub—taking part in the group provides both the opportunity to be heard and the chance to connect with people locally who are living with Long COVID.

The PARATROOPers (which named themselves after letters included in “Participant Research Work Group”) include people living with Long COVID and participating in RECOVER’s adult observational study at ILLInet, RECOVER’s hub at the University of Illinois Chicago. The group formed shortly after Amy Pope, one of the group’s first co-chairs, was considering withdrawing from the study. Her ride to a required in-person study visit fell through, and she felt the study as a whole could be more authentic and valuable to people living with Long COVID.