[Opinion] COVID and PFAS: A match not made in heaven

By South Jersey Times Editorial Board | NJ.com | November 24, 2021

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"The legacy of dangerous “forever chemicals” — those commonly known as PFAS — hovers over South Jersey as if it were a banner on an airplane flying back and forth over the shore.

This editorial is going to skip over the history of how these products ended up in our drinking water and which companies that used or made these products should, or should not, pay for trying to remove the pollutants from our environment. In places like Paulsboro and West Deptford, this is an ongoing whack-a-mole battle for state and federal regulators.

Somewhat overlooked has been the actual effects of accumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in our bodies, and there’s a new reason to study it. Specifically, it’s whether PFAS chemicals, already known to impact human immune systems, are responsible for making people more susceptible to COVID-19 infections, causing their symptoms to be worse, and — perhaps even scarier — rendering vaccines less effective or even ineffective."

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• Environment
• Wildlife
• Affected community
• Health
• HealthEndocrine Disruption
• Monitoring Data