What it is:
UC San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center is conducting two, simultaneous Long COVID studies of adults in the Bay Area called RECOVER and EPI-PASC. The team conducting this research is encouraging local residents to participate. Researchers are especially interested in hearing from people in underserved communities so the study results will accurately represent the experiences of all Bay Area residents.Both studies are under the banner of a UCSF-led research effort called Let’s Figure Out Long COVID — Tell Us Your Story, Bay Area. San Mateo County Health (SMC Health) is a research partner of the EPI-PASC pilot study, which may be expanded later to include other local departments of health.
RECOVER: Volunteers Needed for Multi-Year Study of Long COVID
- Doctors at UCSF Medical Center are conducting local research as part of a multi-year, nationwide study called RECOVER, (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery). This wide-ranging, nationwide study is sponsored by The National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine how common Long COVID is and what causes it. The goal is to develop ways to prevent and treat Long COVID. UCSF is one of 15 RECOVER research sites in the country.
- People throughout the Bay Area are encouraged to volunteer for the local RECOVER study by contacting UCSF researchers. Anyone interested in volunteering should call 415-353-9306, send email to FiguringOutLongCOVID@ucsf.edu, or fill out a form at Studies.RecoverCovid.org.
- Local participants must be at least 18 years old with a COVID diagnosis (via a lab or home test) within the past 30 days. Applicants will be screened by researchers based on several parameters (note: other RECOVER research locations may have different application parameters). Not all who apply to participate in the study will be eligible.
- It’s especially important for those in Black/African American, Latino, Pacific Islander, and Native American communities to contact researchers and participate in RECOVER. These communities have experienced higher-than-average rates of COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
- The RECOVER study will require participants to attend several office visits per year for up to three years. They will complete questionnaires about their health and provide blood samples. Some may need to have X-rays or other tests done to assess their condition and/or progress.
- Office visits will take place at the following three locations: Daly City (333 Gellert Boulevard, Daly City 94015), San Francisco General Hospital Clinical and Translational Science Institute (1001 Potrero Ave, San Francisco, CA 94110), UCSF Parnassus Crede Ambulatory Care Center (400 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102).
- Participants in the multi-year RECOVER study will be paid a small stipend for their time — approximately $75.00 per office visit.
- The NIH describes Long COVID as an “unseen public health crisis” and has invested $1.21B to address it. Different RECOVER research locations may focus on different aspects of Long COVID research for the NIH. Details about RECOVER can be found at RecoverCovid.org.
EPI-PASC: San Mateo Residents Who Had COVID Will Be Contacted by Researchers
- UCSF is partnering with SMC Health for a pilot epidemiology study called EPI-PASC. They hope to find out how common and severe Long COVID symptoms are among county residents. Scientists refer to this as the prevalence and burden of Long COVID.
- UCSF staff members will call adult residents ages 18 and over who were diagnosed with COVID more than 90 days ago for this pilot study. They need to speak with county residents regardless of their current health status. That includes people with lingering health problems in the aftermath of COVID, people who feel fully recovered, and people in between. People will be asked about their health since the time they contracted COVID in a short interview (10 to 15 minutes).
- Researchers have been working with local community groups to develop the EPI-PASC questionnaire so it will be fair and inclusive of all local residents.
- Note: people cannot call or email to volunteer for the EPI-PASC study. They must be contacted by researchers first.
- Long COVID can impact entire communities. The results of the EPI-PASC study may guide the allocation of future public health and economic recovery resources.
About Long COVID:
Long COVID refers to both physical and mental health symptoms that endure long after an initial COVID infection. These symptoms may begin around the time people initially get COVID or may not appear until weeks or months afterwards. Symptoms often impact people’s relationships, ability to work, and quality of life. The medical term for Long COVID is post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, abbreviated as PASC.
The most common Long COVID symptoms are:
- Fatigue
- Mood Changes
- Difficulty Concentrating
- Headaches
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Stomach pain
- Nausea or diarrhea
- Blood pressure issues
- Poor appetite
- Muscle aches
- Joint pain
About The Project Team:
The team at UCSF Medical Center is comprised of medical doctors, professors of epidemiology and biostatistics, community health experts and program managers. Many team members have multiple qualifications and designations.The team includes:
- Jeffrey Martin, MD, MPH; Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF School of Medicine
- Kim Rhoads, MD, MPH; Associate Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF School of Medicine
- Steven Deeks, MD; Professor, Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
- Carina Marquez, MD; Associate Professor, Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
- Michael Peluso, MD; Assistant Professor, Medicine; UCSF School of Medicine
- Priscilla Hsue, MD; Professor, Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
- Dan Kelly, MD; Assistant Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, UCSF School of Medicine
- Curtis Chan, MD; Deputy Health Officer, San Mateo County Health
- Karen Pfister, San Mateo County Health; Supervising Epidemiologist
- Susan Philip, MD, MPH; Health Officer for the City and County of San Francisco; Director of the Population Health Division of SFDPH; Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCSF
- Beatrice Huang, Deputy Study Manager, UCSF
- Khamal Anglin, MPH; Program Manager, UCSF
Press Contacts:
Victoria Sanchez De Alba(650) 270-7810
victoria@dealba.net
Jackie Wright
(415) 525-0410
wrightnow.biz@gmail.com