  Extensive research has documented the immediate impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic on scientists, yet it remains unclear if and how such impacts have
shifted over time. Here we compare results from two surveys of principal
investigators, conducted between April 2020 and January 2021, along with
analyses of large-scale publication data. We find that there has been a clear
sign of recovery in some regards, as scientists' time spent on their work has
almost returned to pre-pandemic levels. However, the latest data also reveals a
new dimension in which the pandemic is affecting the scientific workforce: the
rate of initiating new research projects. Except for the small fraction of
scientists who directly engaged in COVID-related research, most scientists
started significantly fewer new research projects in 2020. This decline is most
pronounced amongst the same demographic groups of scientists who reported the
largest initial disruptions: female scientists and those with young children.
Yet in sharp contrast to the earlier phase of the pandemic, when there were
large disparities across scientific fields, this loss of new projects appears
remarkably homogeneous across fields. Analyses of large-scale publication data
reveal a global decline in the rate of new collaborations, especially in
non-COVID-related preprints, which is consistent with the reported decline in
new projects. Overall, these findings highlight that, while the end of the
pandemic may appear in sight in some countries, its large and unequal impact on
the scientific workforce may be enduring, which may have broad implications for
inequality and the long-term vitality of science.
