A new RECOVER study developed a modelling framework to help policymakers assess the use of lockdown as a last resort option, by determining when a lockdown should be adopted to avoid passing a predetermined ICU capacity target and by evaluating situations where a slowly growing epidemic might remain manageable for the healthcare system without the need for a lockdown.

For patients with COVID-19 who are receiving organ support in an ICU, antiplatelet therapy, either with aspirin or P2Y12 inhibitor (which were found to be equivalent), was ineffective at improving the composite endpoint of death and organ support free days when compared to no antiplatelet therapy

The coordination module of the EU-funded projects RECOVER1 and EU-RESPONSE2 has launched its website.

In May 2021, the RECOVER Social Science team has published a new study in British Journal of General Practice exploring the experiences of primary care healthcare professionals’ (PCPs) during the first peak of COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted in eight European countries: England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Greece, and Sweden, and shows the transformation of primary care during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Adaptive Platform Trial for Community-Acquired Pneumonia, REMAP-CAP, launched its third video. The video shows the global and diverse of REMAP-CAP.

RECOVER was initiated as a means to directly tackle the COVID-19 pandemic by acting as PREPARE’s Mode 3 response, the highest response Mode. RECOVER is one of the 18 projects that the European Union has founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It brings together leading scientists and research institutions to obtain crucial unknown information about the disease through clinical research in order to help the EU fight the virus and save patients’ lives. Now, it is time to look back on one year of RECOVER and what we have achieved so far.

In March 2021, the RECOVER Social Science team has published a paper on the experiences and needs of persons living with a household member infected with SARS-CoV-2. Households are important sites for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and preventive measures are recommended. This study aimed to investigate the impact of living with a person infected with SARS-CoV-2, understand how household members implemented infection control recommendations in their home, and identify the information and support needs of household members.

The delivery of primary health care, especially for patients with symptoms of a respiratory tract infection, has been highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventive measures, frequently changing advice and guidelines, implementation of diagnostic testing by general practices and later by routine community surveillance, changed consultation behaviours because of fear for COVID-19 and not wanting to unnecessarily use health care resources urged for constant adaptations in care delivery.

At the beginning of 2021, our RECOVER scientist Marion Koopmans participated in a 28-day missions in the Chinese city of Wuhan to investigate the origins of the virus that caused the global COVID-19 pandemic. She was part of a a team of experts appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

On February 25, the REMAP-CAP paper: “Interleukin-6 Receptor Antagonists in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19” was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It shows the results of the use of tocilizumab and sarilumab in patients with severe COVID-19. Adult patients with COVID-19 who received organ support in the intensive care unit within 24 hours, were randomly assigned to receive tocilizumab, sarilumab, or standard care. The publication shows that in critically ill patients with COVID-19 receiving organ support in ICUs, treatment with the interleukin-6 receptor antagonists tocilizumab and sarilumab improved outcomes, including survival.