Impact of Short-Term Air Pollution on Respiratory Infections: A Time-Series Analysis of COVID-19 Cases in California during the 2020 Wildfire Season

Lilian Ouja Ademu, Jingjing Gao, Onah Peter Thompson and Lawrence Anebi Ademu
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Lilian Ouja Ademu: Public Policy Ph.D. Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Jingjing Gao: Public Policy Ph.D. Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Onah Peter Thompson: Public Policy Ph.D. Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Charlotte, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Lawrence Anebi Ademu: Department of Animal Production and Health, Federal University Wukari, Wukari 1020, Nigeria

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: The 2020 California wildfire season coincided with the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting many counties in California, with impacts on air quality. We quantitatively analyzed the short-term effect of air pollution on COVID-19 transmission using county-level data collected during the 2020 wildfire season. Using time-series methodology, we assessed the relationship between short-term exposure to particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and Air Quality Index (AQI) on confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 20 counties impacted by wildfires. Our findings indicate that PM 2.5 , CO, and AQI are positively associated with confirmed COVID-19 cases. This suggests that increased air pollution could worsen the situation of a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Health policymakers should make tailored policies to cope with situations that may increase the level of air pollution, especially during a wildfire season.

Keywords: air pollution; respiratory infections; COVID-19; environmental health; Generalized additive models; Feasible Generalized Least Squares Model; California; wildfires (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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