NIH plots path forward for clinical trials of long COVID treatments

The National Institutes of Health has spent most of its nearly $1.7 billion in funding for long COVID on research designed to learn more about the condition rather than on trials for new treatments—a sore point for many advocates who feel frustrated by the lack of medical options. But if the 3-day meeting the agency just held to discuss the future of its RECOVER initiative is any indication, things are about to shift. The NIH called the first phase of the initiative Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER). Its newest project will be called RECOVER-TLC, tacking on an acronym that stands for “treating long COVID.” Unlike the first phase, TLC will focus on clinical trials; it will be led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an NIH subagency. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of that institute, will have a team dedicated to long COVID clinical trials reporting to