Relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions was associated with an increase in the incidence of
COVID-19, non-COVID-19 acute respiratory infections (ARIs), and severe asthma exacerbations, according to a study published in Thorax. Florence Tydeman and colleagues conducted a population-based longitudinal study in 2,312 UK adults with asthma between November 2020 and April 2022 to describe temporal trends in social mixing, incident ARIs, and asthma exacerbations following relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions. The relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions from April 2021 coincided with reduced use of face coverings, increased frequency of indoor visits to public places and other households, and increasing incidence of COVID-19, nonCOVID-19 ARIs, and severe asthma exacerbations. An independent association was seen for incident non-COVID-19 ARIs with an increased risk for asthma exacerbation (adjusted OR, 5.75); a similar association was seen for incident COVID-19, both prior to emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and subsequently (adjusted ORs, 5.89 and 5.69, respectively).
