Study claim: ‘If air pollution were lower, fewer COVID-19 control measures would have been necessary’

https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/emerging-evidence-suggests-covid-19-was-worsened-by-air-pollution/

Emerging evidence suggests COVID-19 was worsened by air pollution

Excerpt: A study by the Dutch consultancy CE Delft investigating the situation in the Netherlands states that “if air pollution were lower, fewer COVID-19 control measures would have been necessary” and “had policy efforts to prevent air pollution been stronger, significant social costs could have been prevented.”

But despite these initial results, more research is needed in the field.

“The relationship between air pollution and virus transmissibility is still uncertain, so we need more research (…). Nevertheless, we can say that the relationship between air pollution and virus transmission forms an additional argument for ambitious air quality policy,” said Daan Juijn, co-author of the Dutch study ‘Air pollution and COVID-19’.

He was supported by Annette Peters, a researcher at Helmholtz Munich’s Institute of Epidemiology, who has also been looking into this issue:

“There is emerging evidence that air pollution is linked to infectious diseases, something we may have overlooked before. The pandemic situation is complex and studies are needed to understand the impacts fully, so it’s still early days. However, action to reduce air pollution is needed,” she said at the event.

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Related Links:

WHO reports: US ranked among countries with the cleanest air in the world – Significantly cleaner air than in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, UK, Japan, Austria, & France

Steve Milloy Analysis: No… America’s air quality is NOT ‘worsening’ — Despite ‘Fake News from The New York Times’

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