Update 10/28/20- Yet another study was released last night out of Spain. Researchers at the University of Cantabria determined that 82 percent of the 216 Covid-19 patients in their study had inadequate vitamin D levels. The control group in the study (Covid-19 negative) only had a rate of 47 percent vitamin D deficient or insufficient. Please also refer to our recent article about vitamin D daily intake needs being higher than the government recommended daily amounts in order to stay vitamin D sufficient.
Update 11/09/20 – Another hospital in Belgium has compiled nearly identical numbers. This time, scientists at AZ Delta hospital in West Flanders say they have found a “clear link’ between vitamin D deficiency and serious cases of Covid-19. “Up to 75 percent of COVID-19 patients were vitamin D deficient on admission. That’s a lot.” The vitamin D deficiency rate in Belgium is 40%. A 35% differential in both the Spain and Belgium studies.
10/14/20 – An alliance of international doctors and researchers is encouraging governments to increase daily recommendations for vitamin D consumption to a level many times higher than they are presently at. They believe it will reduce Covid-19 hospitalizations and the evidence is growing that this is strong possibility. Vitamin D is known for many functions in keeping the immune system ready to both detect and fight an incoming virus. This website has been writing about the possible benefits of vitamins, C, D and Zinc in dealing with this devastating epedemic since March of this year.
The Vaccine Only Narrative
Here is a question for anyone in charge of a government dealing with Covid-19. New vaccines, including first of their kind MRNA vaccines, are being approved. Why are these same governments waiting on peer reviewed studies on the possible benefits of vitamin D in dealing with the virus?
These vaccine makers are skipping many steps in the approval process, including animal trials. Humans in the first test groups are now the guinea pigs. Vitamin D on the other hand has few side effects and an estimated 42% of Americans are deficient in it. A soldier fired upon fires back. This is the approach our government is taking with a rush to vaccines. Calling for prolonged studies in vitamin d benefits is like telling a soldier you probably have a bulletproof vest for him or her but it hasn’t been fully proven yet (maybe next time).
Recent Studies
Current data is what counts during a deadly pandemic. Waiting on a plan to accumulate data in an upcoming peer reviewed study in not an option. Especially when the prospective prophylaxis is as innocent as vitamin D. One study released out of last month Spain tracked the the progress of two groups of hospitalized Covid-19 patients. 50 patients were given calcifediol along with standard care that involved a regime of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin. Calcifediol is the active form of vitamin D. Supplemental vitamin D from diet and vitamins is converted into calcifediol in the body. The process takes about a week. Meanwhile, another 26 patients were only given standard care without the hormone. Of the 26 who received the standard treatment, 13 were taken to the ICU and two of those patients died. Only one of the fifty patients treated with calcifediol was brought to the ICU and survived.
This was a very small test population but vitamin D the supplemented group had much better odds and a death rate of zero verses 7.7% in the non D supplemented group. The D supplemented group also an ICU admission rate of 2% verses 50% for the non D group. Small numbers such as these can produce drastic differences but lets take a look at larger amounts of data pulled together recently dealing with covid patients.
Additional Studies
A recent study conducted by Boston University followed the outcomes of patients who were admitted to the same hospital. A blood sample to measure vitamin D status (measured serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D) was taken from 235 patients when they were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19. Those who were over 40 and vitamin D sufficient were 51.5 percent less likely to die from the infection compared to patients who were vitamin D deficient or insufficient with a blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D less than 30 ng/mL. So patients over the age of 40 who were vitamin D deficient or insufficient were twice as likely to die. This study was released in September too.
The corresponding author of this study was Michael F Holick, PhD, MD. Holick is a professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics and molecular medicine at Boston University. He has also published a study which found that a sufficient amount of vitamin D can reduce the risk of catching coronavirus by 54 percent. Nearly 200,000 people were tracked in that study.
The possible benefits of vitamins C, D and Zinc with respect to avoiding Covid-19 infection far outweigh any side effects. Large amounts of zinc can cause nausea so it could be the most prone to produce side effects. The US recommended daily amount of zinc is 11mg with a ceiling of 50mg for this and other reasons). This website does not make medical claims and be sure to consult a physician when considering taking a new supplement. This website sells several supplements with all three ingredients. Our Immune Support 2020 has the highest combined levels of all three.
