Ambient PM_2.5 exposure and rapid spread of COVID-19 in the United States.

ABSTRACT: It has been posited that populations being exposed to long-term air pollution are more susceptible to COVID-19. Evidence is emerging that long-term exposure to ambient PM_2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter 2.5 μm or less) associates with higher COVID-19 mortality rates, but whether it also associates with the speed at which the disease is capable of spreading in a population is unknown. Here, we establish the association between long-term exposure to ambient PM_2.5 in the United States (US) and COVID-19 basic reproduction ratio R₀- a dimensionless epidemic measure of the rapidity of disease spread through a population. We inferred state-level R₀ values using a state-of-the-art susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered (SEIR) mode

SUBMITTER: Chakrabarty RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7651233 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature