RECOVER-TLC Webinars

RECOVER-TLC webinars are scheduled every other month to engage those who are affected by Long COVID. Participants receive high-level updates on our efforts to identify safe and effective interventions — and there is always time to share ideas and ask questions.

January 2025 Webinar

This webinar provided an update of progress made in the RECOVER-TLC initiatives since the last webinar in November 2024.

Joe Breen, PhD, chief of NIAID’s Immunoregulation Section in the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, briefly reviewed the complicated nature of Long COVID and what current data suggests about pathogenesis. Dr. Breen outlined recent RECOVER-TLC progress, including establishing the antiviral, immunomodulatory, and neurological agent prioritization groups. Dr. Breen also highlighted the first wave of antiviral prioritization, the work of the new scientific oversight committee, and the additional resources that have been added online to keep the RECOVER-TLC community up to date on current happenings. Dr. Breen reminded viewers that the RFI is open for public comment until Feb. 1, 2025, but that people are welcome to continue reach out to RECOVER-TLC via email after this date. He ended by explaining what RECOVER-TLC plans to accomplish over the next few months, like wave 2 of antiviral agent prioritization and wave 1 of immunomodulatory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and neurological agent prioritization.

Lizzie Geerling, PhD, FNIH Associate Project Manager, Translational Science, provided an overview of RECOVER-TLC therapeutic submissions to date. This online portal has received more than 400 therapeutic submissions over 99 days, with 68% of submissions being drugs. Webinar participants were reminded that the portal remains open, and additional ideas can be submitted. Dr. Geerling also reviewed a summary of the scoring criteria for agent prioritization and timelines for agent prioritization in the coming months. Remaining time was allotted for a question-and-answer session, which concluded the webinar.

November 2024 Webinar

NIAID and FNIH hosted the first RECOVER-TLC webinar on Nov. 21, 2024. View a blog summarizing the event from NIAID Director Jeanne M. Marrazzo, MD, MPH, and FNIH President and CEO Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH.

During this webinar, Joe Breen, PhD, chief of NIAID’s Immunoregulation Section in the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, summarized RECOVER-TLC activities that have occurred since the initiative’s kickoff workshop held in late September 2024. These activities included development of a therapeutics submission portal where anyone can submit potential therapeutics and biologics to be clinically tested for Long COVID. Dr. Breen also highlighted the development of a prioritization process that can be utilized to assess agents submitted through this portal.

Another key topic was NIAID’s release of a Request for Information for RECOVER-TLC. The RFI seeks volunteers for working group involvement, biomarker and endpoint suggestions for future Long COVID clinical trials, and general input about the RECOVER-TLC program. The RFI is open for public comment until Feb. 1, 2025. The agent submission portal is also highlighted in this RFI, but there is no current deadline to submit agents for consideration in a future RECOVER-TLC clinical trial.

Elizabeth “Lizzie”Geerling, PhD, FNIH Associate Project Manager, Translational Science, provided updates on the types of therapeutics that have been submitted to the portal, as well as statistics on the affiliations of individuals who have been submitting agents for consideration. The webinar ended with a question-and-answer session.