California’s wildfire smoke and COVID-19 could create an unforeseen mixture of adverse health effects for the state’s residents, UCLA medical faculty said.
Although little is known about long-term exposure to air pollutants like wildfire smoke and its particulates, there are preliminary studies that show the number and severity of COVID-19 cases are higher in areas with high air pollution, said Stephanie Christenson, a doctor and an assistant professor of pulmonology at UC San Francisco. Read more...
Photo: Increasing air pollution because of the recent wildfires poses a threat to lung health and may increase the chances of contracting COVID-19. (Photo by Kanishka Mehra/Photo editor. Photo illustration by Emily Dembinski/Illustrations director)