Responding to COVID-19 requires strong epidemiological evidence of environmental and societal determining factors
Ariana Zeka, Aurelio Tobı́as, Giovanni Leonardi, Fabrizio Bianchi, Paolo Lauriola, Helen Crabbe, Sotiris Vardoulakis, Yuming Guo, Yasushi Honda, Antonio Gasparrini, Masahiro Hashizume, Ana M. Vicedo‐Cabrera, Lisbeth E. Knudsen, Francesco Sera, Matthew Ashworth
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and associated COVID-19 have caused a global emergency that requires an engaged, integrated, interdisciplinary, and rapid response from the scientific community. Climate change, ecological change, and biodiversity loss might have played an important role in the occurrence of this zoonotic pandemic. Climatic and environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and air pollution, are potentially influencing the transmission, spread, and severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.