SPOKANE, Wash — Wildfires last year may have caused more than 19-thousand COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to a study published in National Geographic.
KREM 2 spoke with Dr. Payal Kohli who is a medical expert about the evidence that links wildfires and COVID-19 is growing in the medical community.
"You're actually more likely to catch COVID if you live in an area with a lot of wildfire activity," Dr. Kohli said. "It increases the inflammation in the lungs because it reduces the immunity because the lungs are so busy at fighting the particulate matter that they're not as good at fighting COVID."
If you have continuous exposure to wildfire smoke, it can increase the likelihood of asthma, COPD, and other respiratory issues.
These issues can then distract your body from fighting off the COVID-19 virus.
It's recommended that when the wildfire smoke and air quality is particularly bad to wear an N-95 strength mask to protect yourself.
Dr. Kohli also said that those who are subject to being around wildfire smoke frequently that they are aware of how much smoke they are directly inhaling.
"Small doses, even if they're prolonged, may not contribute to those long-term effects, because the duration is limited," Dr. Kohli said. "But when you're talking about lifetime exposure, year after year after year, you start to cause a lot of chronic inflammation, not just in your lungs, but in your eyes, in your nose and throat, in your skin, all of your mucus membranes as we like to call them, which can really result in long term effects."
Dr. Kohli also explained that millions of people die every year just as a result of wildfire smoke.