Wildfire smoke study highlights need for precautions, Bay Area health experts say

A new study that links wildfire smoke with rising COVID-19 infections and deaths did not surprise local experts, who said the findings reinforce the precautions taken by individuals and policy makers in the Bay Area and California.

The authors of a Harvard University study said they found evidence linking smoke from wildfires in California, Oregon and Washington in 2020 to rising COVID cases and deaths. They said that smoke carries with it fine particulate matter — or PM 2.5, known to have adverse effects on health — which acts as a vehicle for spreading infection even faster and making existing cases worse.