Experts say Dirty air in America’s most polluted cities can make COVID worse

[ASEAN NOW News]

People line up for nucleic acid testing at a makeshift testing site in a park following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, on a polluted day in Daxing district of Beijing, China January 26, 2021. REUTERS File Photo

 

Doctors apparently say that dirty air can contribute to COVID-19 severity, according to a study from one of America’s most polluted cities.

 

Researchers who studied 2,038 adults hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Detroit area found those who needed intensive care and machines to help them breathe were more likely to live in neighborhoods with higher levels of air pollution and lead paint.

 

Pollution in Indonesian City

 

The worse the local air contamination, the higher the odds of needing intensive care and mechanical ventilation.

Dr. Anita Shallal of Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital said long-term exposure to air pollution may impair the immune system and make it more susceptible to viral infections, while fine particles in air pollution may also act as a carrier for the virus and help it spread.

 

The study “calls attention to the systemic inequalities that may have led to the stark differences in COVID-19 outcomes along racial and ethnic lines,” Shallal said in a statement from the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, where she presented the findings on Friday.

 

“Communities of color are more likely to be located in areas closer to industrial pollution, and to work in businesses that expose them to air pollution.”

 

 

Cold or Dry 

 

 

There is also emerging evidence that appears to suggest that weather conditions may influence the transmission of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

 

For example, cold and dry conditions appear to boost the spread. This phenomenon may manifest itself through two mechanisms: the stability of the virus and the effect of the weather on the host.  The weather effect is minimal, and all estimates are subject to significant biases reinforcing the need for robust public health measures.

 

A cross-sectional study correlated cases with mean temperature explored the effect of temperature on transmission in 429, mainly Chinese, cities. They found that for every 1℃ increase in the minimum temperature led to a decrease in the cumulative number of cases by 0.86.

 

A modelling study suggested a transitory reduction in incidence may occur cautioning “The onset of spring and summer could, for example, give the impression that SARS-CoV-2 has been successfully contained, only for infections to increase again in 2020-2021 winter season”.

 

 

[Venom]

Thailand's PM 2.5 air pollution season Dec - April is far worse. But hay let's single out China. 

[Boedog]

Well then lucky Thailand doesn't have a pollution problem just imagine if they did