Coronavirus: Pollution

(asked on 24th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the implications for Government policy of Queen Mary University's research on the biological link between air pollution and coronavirus.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 7th July 2020

Poor air quality is the largest environmental risk to public health in the United Kingdom and there is emerging evidence suggesting an association between exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality. However, many of the papers are, as yet, not peer-reviewed and are of variable quality.

In April, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ independent Air Quality Expert Group, with input from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, launched a call for evidence to help with assessing the impact of the pandemic and air quality. This work will be published in due course.

The Department continues to have extensive discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and other departments on the relationship between health and air quality.

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