TedTalk Script

Slide #1: Hi everyone! My name is Maddie Baker and today I’m going to be discussing the effects that air
pollution has in relation to COVID-19. One question many people have was why there were some people
who died after catching the virus, and why some people were completely asymptomatic and had no clue
they had it? Well, air pollution may play a role in answering that question.

Slide #2: Air pollution has been an issue on many environmental activists’ agenda for quite some time
now. However, the problem of out over-polluted atmosphere has become a much greater issue since
the outbreak of the Coronavirus. There have been a great number of studies done since the outbreak of
the virus, especially in areas where there were major outbreaks such as China, Italy, and the United
States. Overall, these studies have found that areas with high levels of air pollution, have proportionally
higher numbers of people who experience severe symptoms of COVID-19 as well as reporting
proportionally higher death rates. Well, how could air pollution play a factor in this? First and foremost,
long-term exposure to air pollution can cause a person to have underlying health issues such as
developing heart conditions or a weakened respiratory system. In turn, these issues can cause a person
to develop severe complications after contracting the virus.

Slide #3: Now, let’s actually take a look at some of these studies I mentioned before. Before we get into
that, I want to familiarize you with a term I will reference during the presentation. The term is
‘particulate matter 2.5’ which is represented on the graph as PM with a subscript of 2.5. This is used as a
unit of measurement for air pollution, with the ‘2.5’ meaning that the air particles are either 2.5
micrometers or smaller. A higher level of particulate matter 2.5 means that there is a greater level of air
pollution. These little guys are important because the particles are small enough that we can inhale
them, and they can move through our bloodstream. Harvard University conducted a study where they
analyzed data from 3,087 different counties throughout the United States. The data they looked at was
levels of air pollution, such as levels of particulate matter 2.5, over the last 17 years, and compared them
to areas in the U.S. that had higher levels of severe COVID-19 cases, and higher levels of COVID-19 death
rates. The study found that long-term exposure to high levels of particulate matter 2.5 increases the
number of deaths due to COVID-19 by 8%. Since individual patient data is not available, this study could
not directly prove that air pollution was the only factor, but there is most definitely a correlation.

Slide #4: Another interesting point to look at is that data has been found that Coronavirus particles have
been able to latch themselves onto particulate matter in the air. A study done by out of Italy found took
air samples in highly polluted areas and found that particles of virus were able to attach, in clusters, to
air particles. In places where air pollution isn’t prominent, this information doesn’t mean much.
However, in places where there are higher levels of air pollution, this could be a very large issue. I say
this because if particulate matter levels are low, that means that those particles are so extremely spread
out that a person could not inhale enough virus particles for them to actually become sick. But, in places
where particulate matter levels are high, these coronavirus particles will be much more concentrated in
the air, making it much more likely for a person to contract the virus. These air particles could act as a
carrier for the virus, meaning that those who live in areas with high levels of air pollution, have the
possibility of contracting the virus even if they take measure such as social distancing and wearing a
mask while around others.

Slide #5: I’ve given you all of this information, now what can we do with it? First of all, we can use these
findings as a way to find out where we should concentrate hospital resources such as ventilators. Since
areas that have high levels of air pollution will be the areas that have higher levels of severe cases and
deaths, we can concentrate resources in these areas. Secondly, we can use this information to inform
those who may be completely unaware that they are at an increased risk of becoming severely ill if they
were to contract COVID. Many don’t realize the major health complications that long-term exposure to
air pollution can have on a person. Many people who don’t think they have any health issues also think
that COVID can’t hurt them. If we can raise awareness about this issue, people might start taking this
pandemic a little more seriously. Finally, we can use this information as a reason to begin implementing
stronger social-distancing and mask mandates, especially in places with high pollution levels. Not only
because there is a chance of becoming extremely ill and a higher chance of death if exposed to air
pollution, but also because there is the possibility that people can contract the virus simply from it being
floating around in the air around us.

Slide #6: Hopefully, you have been able to find this information useful and it can open your eyes to how
serious of an issue air pollution can be in respect to COVID-19. We need to work to fix the problem of air
pollution, not just to help save our Earth, but to save ourselves and everyone around us. Thank you.