What you should know about wildfire smoke exposure and COVID-19

What you should know about wildfire smoke exposure and COVID-19

Various studies—including a recent one conducted in Reno, Nevada —indicate that periods of extremely poor air quality are associated with significantly higher rates of COVID-19 cases and sometimes hospitalizations. “Each of these things by themselves are things that we can see a path to improving and mitigating. The problem is we’re not getting the opportunity because it’s all happening at once. And that can feel overwhelming,” Michael Kleinman, PhD, [adjunct] professor of environmental toxicology and co-director of the Air Pollution Health Effects Laboratory at University of California, Irvine, tells Verywell.