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COVID-19, Air Pollution, & Social and Racial Inequities

 COVID-19 and Air Pollution Risks Highlight Inequities in US
       
    Arguably, the two most pressing health-related problems faced by the world today are the COVID-19 pandemic and the environmental crisis. Paired together, these two issues can wreak greater havoc on certain communities than when experienced separately. For example, past research has confirmed that air pollution is linked with an increased COVID-19 death rate (See Air Pollution and COVID-19). Although many people today face air pollution either as a result of fires, car exhaust, factories, or something else, exposure to pollutants in the air can vary dramatically depending on where one resides. Up until recently, previous studies have not examined which communities tend to live in areas that are at an increased risk for both COVID-19 and air pollution. A study published in ScienceDirect in February 2021, investigates which communities are at higher risk for both air pollution and COVID-19 in the United States. 

About the Study

    Since one of the most common symptoms of the coronavirus is respiratory illness, studies have found that exposure to air pollution can increase susceptibility of COVID-19 infection, severity, and even death rate. To examine which areas and which groups are most affected by air pollution and thus, at higher risk for COVID-19, researchers obtained data from the Johns Hopkins University database. The data was taken from January 22 to November 13, 2020 from 3,108 counties across the continental United States. A total of 10,355,623 COVID-19 cases were ultimately part of the study. This data was then linked with respiratory data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and analyzed to identify geographic clusters that represented relationships between COVID-19 incidence rate and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) risk.

Study Results

    Counties across the U.S. were categorized into 5 clusters based on the nature and significance of spatial correlations between COVID-19 and HAP risk: 
  1. High-high category, high COVID-19 incidence spatially associated with HAP risk
  2. Low-low category, low COVID-19 incidence spatially associated with HAP risk
  3. Low-high category, low COVID-19 incidence surrounded by high HAP risk
  4. High-low category, high COVID-19 incidence surrounded by low HAP risk
  5. Not significant category
    Results found that the high-high category contained almost 14% of counties across the United States, mainly located in the Southeast and California. In the top 5 counties in the high-high category, COVID-19 incidence rates were at least 3 times higher than the national average and respiratory risks from HAPS were almost twice as high. The low-low category also comprised of 14% of counties, primarily located in the Midwest and Northeast. Low-high counties  were mainly found in California, Arkansas and Georgia while high-low counties were found throughout the Mountain and Midwest regions. (See below)


    While it may not be surprising that certain regions have higher COVID-19 and respiratory risks than others, the high percentage of certain minority communities residing in these areas are shocking. The high-high category consists of significantly higher percentages of African American residents and socioeconomically deprived individuals compared to the other 4 clusters and the U.S. as a whole. According to the study, "socioeconomic deprivation variables show significantly higher means in the high-high category than the rest of the U.S." Furthermore, the mean Black percentage is a staggering 18% higher in the high-high category than in the low-low category. Additionally, the mean percentage of uninsured individuals is significantly higher in the high-high category compared to counties in the non high-high categories. In other words, African Americans, lower class, and uninsured residents have a much higher chance of respiratory and COVID-19 risks. 

Summary and Implications

    The study results have confirmed that certain areas have a significantly higher COVID-19 incidence and HAP risk compared to others. Unfortunately, this study also finds that the residents who live in these high risk areas show up consistently as specific minority groups: black, socioeconomically deprived, and/or uninsured. Long term-exposure to air pollution, which these residents are experiencing, put them at an increased risk for COVID-19 mortality and severity. Because these minority groups are also experiencing high COVID-19 incidence, one can expect these communities to have a disproportionately higher percentage of severe COVID-19 cases and death. Many of these black, socioeconomically deprived, and uninsured residents have no say in where they live and their exposure to air pollution, or complete control over their community's COVID-19 incidence rate. Yet, they will be the ones who experience the highest death and severity rates. Now with the ongoing pandemic, the need to address social disparaities is more pressing than ever. Some ways to help those experiencing COVID-19 inequities are to wear your mask, stay socially distant, and call for reform.

Sources

1. Chakraborty, Jayajit. “Convergence of COVID-19 and Chronic Air Pollution Risks: Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Inequities in the U.S.” ScienceDirect, Feb. 2021, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.110586.

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