As a primarily respiratory-linked virus, COVID-19 has underlined the importance of breathing clean air for all.

The pandemic has functioned as a reminder that many of the most harmful particles are both invisible and floating around us a lot of the time. Consumers are already reacting: According to the Associated Press, in the next decade, the air purifier industry is projected to experience a compound annual growth rate of 10%.

National Lockdowns Call Attention to Unhealthy Norms

Most people live in areas that exceed the WHO’s guidelines regarding safe air pollution levels. As lockdown protocols began in early 2020, smog-heavy places like Los Angeles, suddenly witnessed a brief change in their skies, thanks to a momentary respite from heavy vehicle traffic. Unfortunately, this only lasted for 21 days, the longest stretch of clear sky LA had experienced in the past four decades. The temporary glimpse at the potential of clean air ignited people’s imaginations.

Increased Understanding of the Indoor-Outdoor Air Quality Continuum

Health providers are becoming more aware of the outdoor-indoor air quality continuum - the reality that our daily interaction with pollution inside the home matters just as much as our experience with contaminated outside.

Having spent a lot more time indoors during 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, the focus has also turned to indoor air quality and ventilation management best practices in a bid to prevent virus transmission. The WHO came out with a roadmap to ensure proper indoor ventilation measures, not only in regards to Covid-19 but for general health benefits too.

In Germany, a new $488 million initiative was launched to carry out ventilation upgrades in public facilities and allow eligible sites to apply for CO2 sensor installation funding. This pursuit of cleaner air quality also led global organizations like the Well Building Institute to develop new building health rating certification standards, focusing on air quality, ventilation features, and other health-conscious improvements. 

In addition to air quality awareness trends, a number of research studies have confirmed an association between long-term air pollution exposure and the severity of COVID-19 symptoms - increasing care provider interest. 

Particulate Matter Linked to COVID-19 Mortality

A 2020 Harvard study focused on 3,080 different counties in the United States and set out to explore links between air pollution trends over the last 15-17 years, and COVID-19 outcomes across different areas. The study found that long-term exposure to Fine Particulate Matter was significantly linked to COVID-19 likelihood of death. In other words, those living in highly polluted areas were significantly more at risk of dying from the deadly disease.  Specifically, the researchers found that a one-unit increase (1μg/m3) in long-term average exposure to fine particulate matter was associated with an 8% increase in COVID-19 mortality rate on average.

Nitrogen Dioxide Impacts COVID-19 Outcomes

A European study focused on 66 administrative regions in Italy, Spain, France, and Germany found that 78% of COVID-19 deaths occurred in just five regions, which were also the most historically polluted. The research focused on historical levels of No2 exposure, in particular, concluding that prolonged exposure to this pollutant could also contribute to Coronavirus mortality. 

Airborne Pollen Contributes to COVID-19 Infection

A 2021 study investigating the link between airborne pollen and COVID-19 infection, alongside humidity, temperature, population density, and lockdown effects. Their study examined 130 sites in 31 sites across 5 continents and found that pollen, sometimes in synergy with humidity and temperature factors, explained 44% of the infection rate variability on average.

The strong links between environmental exposure and COVID-19 have functioned to raise awareness about the impact of air quality on other chronic diseases and health more generally.

For example, air pollution is a major exacerbator of various chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which, according to the CDC, have become leading causes of death in the US. Chronic disease is also the main driving factor responsible for an annual $3.8 trillion in various healthcare expenditures.  

One of the largest studies on the impact of air quality on health, carried out by Canadian researchers, found an 8% increase in same day doctor’s visits for people living with major chronic diseases per same day NO2 10 ppb. The study also found a 4-6% increase in ER visits up to 6 days after peak exposures to PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and SO2.

COVID-19 has forced governments and healthcare systems alike to find creative ways to meet social distancing requirements and keep unnecessary burdens on doctor’s clinics and hospitals down. In doing so, healthcare technology has become more of a priority than ever before:

Historically, healthcare providers faced an information gap when it came to understanding the environmental impact on a person’s health, especially for chronic diseases such as asthma, COPD, and heart disease. Without access to highly personalized information about an individual’s context, it was extremely difficult to interpret the role of the environment on symptom flare-ups - or indeed, to empower patients to avoid personal and often invisible triggers in the air around them.

Advances in big data, AI, and environmental monitoring have opened up a world of opportunities for health providers in this respect - as new access to high-resolution air quality and pollen intelligence provides valuable insight into an individual’s health exacerbation and new avenues for patient engagement.

We are now seeing a whole new category of use cases within healthcare, centered around the notion of ‘health-focused environmental intelligence’. For delivering therapeutics, this is about much more than raw data, it's about providing actionable health insights to vulnerable individuals so they can take proactive measures and protect themselves from hazards around them.