US Wildfire Smoke in May Have Contributed to Excess COVID Cases and Deaths in 2020

Wildfires in western US may be linked to increased COVID-19 cases and deaths in 2020

 

Link to the source article >> https://healthpolicy-watch.news/wildfire-smoke-us-covid-cases-deaths-2020/

While the US was contending with the COVID-19 pandemic, huge wildfires that swept across the country in 2020 may have contributed to thousands of COVID cases and deaths, according to a US study on fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) air pollution from wildfires and COVID-19.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, found that the cumulative total of COVID-19 cases and deaths attributable to daily increases in PM 2.5 from wildfires was 19,700 and 750, respectively.

Wildfires produce high levels of fine particulate matter, which has been linked to several negative health outcomes, including premature death, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other respiratory illnesses.

The study used monitoring data on PM 2.5 air concentrations at a county- and daily-levels, wildfire satellite data, and the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in 92 countries, representing 95% of the population across California, Oregon, and Washington – three states that bore the brunt of the 2020 wildfires.

“The convergence of the pandemic and wildfires across the western US,” noted Francesca Dominici, senior author of the study at the Harvard Chan School, has brought “unimaginable challenges in public health.”

“In this study, we are providing evidence that climate change – which increases the frequency and the intensity of wildfires – and the pandemic are a disastrous combination,” added Dominici.

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