‘Cannot wait to get the COVID vaccine so I can touch my face again.’ –Scott Shapiro

5555.jpg

Higher airborne pollen concentrations correlated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, as evidenced from 31 countries across the globe

[…]

We found that pollen, sometimes in synergy with humidity and temperature, explained, on average, 44% of the infection rate variability. Lockdown halved infection rates under similar pollen concentrations. […]

Pollen grains act on the very site of virus entry, the nasal epithelium, by inhibiting antiviral λ-IFN responses.

{ PNAS | Continue reading }

previously { We conclude that pollen is a predictor for the inverse seasonality of flu-like epidemics including COVID-19 }

wax crayon on paper { Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dog Shit in the Head of the Pope, 1981 }