This is Not a Surprise

Proximity to oil and gas wells have been long linked to increases in pulmonary problems, and Covid tends to cause death through lung damage, so it should come to no surprise that, "Oil and gas well proximity linked to higher rates of COVID-19 mortality."

My (very likely correct) guess would be that high levels of air pollution from other sources would have a similar impact, as it did with Tuberculosis and a whole constellation of other diseases.

Wear a f%$#ing mask, and get a f%$#ing vaccination:

Between December 2019 and May 2022, the United States saw 82 million reported cases of COVID-19 and approximately 1 million deaths linked to the disease. Some communities, such as those that are economically disadvantaged or have a high proportion of racial or ethnic minority groups, were hit especially hard.

Neighborhoods where residents have historically experienced racial discrimination in housing policy are also more likely to be located near active oil and gas wells; in 2017, 17.6 million U.S. residents lived within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of such wells.

Previous studies have shown that those living near oil or gas wells—which can cause air, water, soil, noise, and light pollution—have higher risks of conditions such as asthma, cancer, immunodeficiencies, and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Others have found that air pollution increased COVID-19 risks.

But a new study by Timothy Archer and colleagues is the first, to the authors' knowledge, to study whether proximity specifically to oil and gas development could also be linked to higher rates of COVID-19.

QE f%$#ing D.