COVID-19 Pandemic and Environmental Health: Effects and the Immediate Need for a Concise Risk Analysis

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic, as another disease emerging in the interface between animals and humans, has revealed the importance of interdisciplinary collaborations such as the One Health initiative. Environmental Health, whose role in the One Health concept is well established, has been associated with COVID-19 pandemic via various direct and indirect pathways. Modern lifestyle, climate change, environmental degradation, exposure to chemicals such as endocrine disruptors, and exposure to psychological stress factors impact human health negatively. As a result, many people are in the disadvantageous position to face the pandemic with an already impaired immune system due to their exposure to environmental health hazards. Moreover, the ongoing pandemic has been associated with outdoor and indoor air pollution, water and noise pollution, food security, and plastic pollution issues. Also, the inadequate infrastructure, the lack of proper waste and wastewater management, and the unequal social vulnerability reveal more linkages between Environmental Health and COVID-19 pandemic. The significant emerging ecological risk and its subsequent health implications require immediate risk analysis and risk communication strategies.