San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Experts say use of tear gas could escalate pandemic, increase severity of infections
around the world in recent years. Many of the safety studies that law enforcement officials rely on date to the 1950s and ’60s, he said.
But a 2014 study from the U.S. Army offered an alarming glimpse into how the chemical could escalate this pandemic. The study found that recruits who were exposed to tear gas as part of a training exercise were more likely to get sick with respiratory illnesses such as the common cold and the flu.
“We have a lot of antiviral defenses that can inactivate viruses and prevent them from entering cells,” he said. “These are depleted by inhalation of tear gas and also compromised.”
The findings of the Army study led the U.S. military to significantly reduce how much recruits were exposed to the chemical.
“Even the Army realized they had done something wrong and that this was more toxic than they thought before,” Jordt said.
Even though there is a limited amount of research on this new coronavirus, there are studies from China and Italy about how other irritants, such as smoking and air pollution, affect COVID-19. These studies indicate tear gas could also make people more likely to develop severe illness, said Dr. John Balmes, a pulmonologist at the University of California, San Francisco and an expert with the American Thoracic Society.
“I actually think we could be promoting COVID-19 by tear-gassing protesters,” Balmes said. “It causes injury and inflammation to the lining of the airways.”
Balmes said this period of inflammation sets back the body’s defenses and makes it more likely that someone who already harbors the virus will become sick.
“It’s adding fuel to the fire,” Balmes said. “These exposures to tear gas would increase the risk of progression from the asymptomatic infection to a symptomatic disease.”
Growing evidence shows many people who have the coronavirus are asymptomatic and don’t know they are infected, or are “presymptomatic” — infected with the virus and able to infect others but not yet showing symptoms.
With thousands of people jammed together at mass protests, the demonstrations are already primed to be “superspreading events,” which can lead to an explosion of new cases. Outdoor gatherings typically decrease the chance of spreading the coronavirus. But activities like singing and yelling can increase the risk.
Tear gas and pepper spray can also sow confusion and panic in a crowd. People may rip off their masks and touch their faces, leading to more contamination.
Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University said the body’s reaction to the chemicals causes people to shed more of the virus.
“If they’re coughing, the particles actually emanate and are projectiles that travel about 6 feet or so and could land on other people,” said Adalja, who is also a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “This is a way to almost induce the virus to be expelled from people when they are exposed to these agents.”
Adalja anticipates the protests will inevitably lead to a spike in infections. “We know that any kind of social unrest, especially in the midst of an outbreak, is only going to make things worse,” he said.
He said the most recent example would be bombings in Yemen that exacerbated a cholera outbreak.
Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician in Oakland, Calif., has studied the use of riot-control agents around the world.
“These weapons don’t actually deescalate tensions in peaceful community policing,” said Haar, a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley.
Haar has also treating COVID-19 patients. She said she recognizes the danger of spreading the virus at these gatherings but would not discourage people from attending the protests and exercising their right to free speech.
“It’s a really tough situation,” Haar said. “I think the irony is that people are rightfully and justifiably protesting police violence and are being met with violence that is worsening the pandemic conditions we’re living under right now.”
More than a thousand physicians and health care professionals have signed an open letter in support of the demonstrations.
Dr. Jade Pagkas-Bather, an infectious disease expert at the University of Chicago, is one of them. She said it will be difficult to determine whether any spike in cases was a direct result of the protests, because they’re happening as many states are allowing businesses to reopen.
“In everyday life, we weigh the risks and benefits of our actions. People who are going out to protests are clearly at a critical juncture where they are saying this state-sanctioned violence is unacceptable, and I am willing to put myself and others potentially at risk,” she said.
The open letter she signed recommends ways protesters, police and local officials can reduce the transmission of the virus. Among the major recommendations: Police should not use tear gas or pepper spray.
Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service committed to in-depth coverage of health care policy and politics.