Air Pollution and COVID-19: Exploring the Link Between Pandemic Spread and Pollutants

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, and the SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to be a global concern with new variants. Our research focused on the relationship between COVID-19 and air pollution, and we included findings from recently published research. In summary, there is a direct relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 infection and fatality rates. This relationship was evident after many parts of the world declared lockdowns. Research to understand the relationship between infection rates and air pollutants identified indirect factors that contributed to the spread of infection. In this article, we explore studies on air pollutants, the use of face masks, weather conditions, short- and long-term exposure, infection and mortality, and modeling of the pandemic.