LOS ANGELES - The spring season correlates with increased pollen counts, and according to a new study, the common allergen could be making COVID-19 infection rates worse.In the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, researchers found that higher airborne pollen concentrations were driving increased COVID-19 infection rates."Pollen exposure weakens the immunity against certain seasonal respiratory viruses by diminishing the antiviral interferon response," the study’s authors wrote.The team investigated whether this applied specifically to the COVID-19 virus by performing data analysis from 130 stations across 31 countries.