Shaping the Future of Science: COVID‐19 Highlighting the Importance of GeoHealth

摘要

From the heated debates over the airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus to the abrupt Earth system changes caused by the sudden lockdowns, the dire circumstances resulting from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic have brought the field of GeoHealth to the forefront of visibility in science and policy. The pandemic has inadvertently provided an opportunity to study how human response has impacted the Earth system, how the Earth system may impact the pandemic, and the capacity of GeoHealth to inform real‐time policy. The lessons learned throughout our responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic are shaping the future of GeoHealth. Plain Language Summary From the heated debates over whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is primarily spread by airborne droplets to the abrupt changes in human behavior such as less driving and factory emissions that have caused changes to the Earth, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of the scientific field called GeoHealth. GeoHealth is the scientific study connecting humans, health, and the Earth—all of which are affected by the COVID‐19 pandemic. The unique circumstances from the pandemic have provided an opportunity to study how human behavior has impacted the Earth, how aspects of the Earth such as weather and climate may impact the pandemic, and the importance of GeoHealth throughout the pandemic response. Key Points The COVID‐19 pandemic has brought the field of GeoHealth to the forefront of visibility, especially by informing disease mitigation policies The pandemic provides an opportunity to observe how changes in human behavior have impacted the Earth system The pandemic is helping GeoHealth identify areas of future growth in data availability, environmental justice, and scientific communication