Pollen & COVID-19

1. Controversy

Some scientists found a pattern that the increase on pollen level affected COVID-19 cases to increase as well. Some scientists say that the increase in pollen level prevents spread of viruses like COVID-19.

2. Finding

The study by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovered that pollen level increase triggered infections to increase in 31 countries after 4 days (testing result pending date).

3. Reason

"When we inhale pollen, they end up on our nasal mucosa and here, they diminish the expression of genes that are important for the defense against airborne viruses," study author Stefanie Gilles, PhD, chair of environmental medicine at the Technical University of Munich in Germany, said in a press conference.

4. Prevention

Masks do a great job of blocking pollen, so wearing one is even more important when pollen

and viruses are floating around, he says.

There is no scientific consensus yet, about what it is driving, and that's what makes it such an interesting field

Information from Web MD- https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210310/could-pollen-be-driving-covid-19-infections