Report: Higher pollen concentrations correlated with increase in COVID-19 infections By: Scripps National and last updated 2021-04-08 18:38:45-04 Spring is in the air and so is pollen. Research has shown the allergen can make respiratory illnesses worse and COVID-19 is no exception. Higher airborne pollen concentrations are correlated with increased COVID-19 infection rates, according to a recent report. âPollen actually causes inflammation in your airways if youâre allergic, so you can get stuffy nose, coughing, wheezing, even asthma symptoms from it, similar to what you get with respiratory viruses and then the irony is if you suffer from allergies, youâre more likely to catch a respiratory virus or vice versa because your airways are already inflamed from one thing, such as pollen,â said Dr. Purvi Parikh, Allergist Immunologist at the Allergy & Asthma Network.