RECOVER Studies includes studies that people join, called observational cohort studies, as well as other studies where researchers test human tissue and find patterns in electronic health records. This page will tell you more about the different types of studies, RECOVER’s goals, and what’s next for our research.
Observational cohort studies are studies where people are paid to do tests and have checkups but are not given a treatment or medicine for COVID-19. Researchers observe participants over a long period of time to see how COVID-19 affects their health. RECOVER has cohort studies for the following groups of people.
Adults over age 18 joined the study, including adults who did and did not have COVID-19. The first phase of this study ended December 31, 2025. Learn about the second phase of this study.
Women who were pregnant after January 1, 2020 joined the study. This includes women who did and did not have COVID-19 while they were pregnant. The first phase of this study ended December 31, 2025. Learn about the second phase of this study.
Children and their caregivers joined the study. This includes children of all ages, from newborns to young adults up to 25 years old. This first phase of this study is ongoing.
In addition to cohort studies, we’re learning about Long COVID in other ways, such as by testing human tissue and finding patterns in electronic health records.
With the permission of a loved one, researchers respectfully collect tissues and organs of people who have died. This lets researchers study Long COVID in ways that aren’t possible when people are alive.
Electronic health records (EHRs) are digital versions of patients’ medical records. RECOVER researchers use this real-world data from large groups of people to learn about Long COVID and why it affects people differently.
In the first phase of RECOVER Studies, we learned about the symptoms people may experience and what affects their risk of developing Long COVID.
In the second phase, a smaller group of participants will be asked to continue in the study so we can understand such things as:
The second phase of the adult study begins in 2026.
RECOVER Studies are helping researchers learn about Long COVID. Along with papers published in scientific journals, RECOVER creates easy to understand summaries of the results.
Looking for information on a clinical trial testing a new, possible treatment for Long COVID?
Learn about RECOVER Clinical Trials.
