How We can fix this pandemic in a month (Vitamin D: 20K IU for 14 days) – June 22, 2020

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service

Commentary by Damien Downing, MBBS, MRSB

If we act on the data showing that it is highly probable that vitamin D can save lives, we could fix this pandemic in a month, for perhaps $2 per person. There would be no significant adverse effects. If we wait for "evidence" that vitamin D mitigates the impact of COVID-19, thousands more will die. If we could arrange to give everyone vitamin D, and it failed to protect them, so what? The risk from not acting is much greater than the risk from acting. Dosage is important and generally misunderstood.

Two countries have acted on this already: Egypt and Slovenia. Why can't we?

The Orthomolecular Medicine News Service has been publicizing the importance of vitamins D and C, and the minerals zinc and magnesium, in this pandemic since January [1]. I have been writing about Vitamin D and sunlight for over 30 years [2], and it has never been more relevant.

If you caught the COVID19 virus right now, having a good vitamin D status (from already having taken a supplement) would

• Reduce your risk of the disease becoming severe by 90%
• Reduce your risk of dying by 96%

This is not "proven" or "evidence-based" until we have done controlled trials comparing it to placebo. Any volunteers for that? But the data, already strong, has been pouring in since the start of the pandemic. Here's the data for the two statements above.

[A Hazard Ratio of 4 means that in one condition, for instance vitamin D deficiency, you are 4 times more likely to suffer the "hazard" than in another condition, say vitamin D adequacy. The graphics are all mine.]

A Philippine study [3]

With a deficient vitamin D status (<50nmol/L) the probability of becoming Severe or Critical with COVID-19 was 72.8% against 7.2% with adequate vitamin D (>75nmol/L). The Hazard Ratio is 10.0.

An Indonesian study [4]

With a deficient vitamin D status (<50nmol/L) the mortality rate from COVID-19 was 98.8% against 4.1% with adequate vitamin D (>75nmol/L). The Hazard Ratio is 24.1.

A review of data on Europe [5]

For countries in Europe, the probability of developing COVID-19, and of dying from it, is negatively correlated with mean population vitamin D status, with both probabilities reaching zero above about 75nmol/L. (The chart also shows the lower vitamin D levels for the elderly in Spain and Italy. [6]) It is also known that other factors such as age, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes are commonly associated with death in COVID-19. [5-8] For example, the elderly population in care facilities often do not get much sunlight exposure nor adequate supplements of essential nutrients including vitamin D, which will increase their risk of serious infections. Further, the 25(OH)D level in northern European countries such as Sweden drops in late winter to ~50 nmol/L or less, which may explain their relatively high death rate from infection. [9]

Dosage is important and generally misunderstood
Recent studies have suggested in discussion that more than 4000 IU per day of vitamin D3 may carry a risk of harm, citing the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition report of 2016 which set the recommended Upper Level (UL) intakes of 50mcg/2000IU per day. [10] That report says; "Excessive vitamin D intakes have, however, been shown to have toxic effects (Vieth, 2006)". [10] However this is misleading, as the Vieth paper [11] states: "Published reports suggest toxicity may occur with 25(OH)D concentrations beyond 500 nmol/L." This leaves a wide margin of safety.

The 3 papers mentioned above [3-5] show that a vitamin D3 blood level of at least 75 nmol/L (30 ng/ml) is needed for protection against COVID-19. Government recommendations for vitamin D intake - 400 IU/day for the UK and 600 IU/day for the USA (800 IU for >70 years) and the EU - are based primarily on bone health. This is woefully inadequate in the pandemic context. An adult will need to take 4000 IU/day of vitamin D3 for 3 months to reliably achieve a 75 nmol/L level [12]. Persons of color may need twice as much [13]. These doses can reduce the risk of infection, but are not for treatment of an acute viral infection. And since vitamin D is fat-soluble and its level in the body rises slowly, for those with a deficiency, taking a initial dose of 5-fold the normal dose (20,000 IU/day) for 2 weeks can help to raise the level up to an adequate level to lower infection risk.

Other essential nutrients can help
As mentioned above, many studies have shown that for those deficient in essential nutrients, a protocol that includes vitamin D, vitamin C, magnesium, and zinc can decrease the risk of infection for viruses, including those similar to COVID-19.[1] Recommended preventive adult doses are vitamin C, 3000 mg/day (in divided doses, to bowel tolerance), magnesium, 400 mg (in malate, citrate, or chloride form), zinc, 20 mg. [1]

References

• 1. Saul AW. (2020) Vitamin C Protects Against Coronavirus. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v16n04.shtml
• 2. Downing D. (1988) Day Light Robbery. Arrow Books, London. ISBN-13: 978-0099567400
• 3. Alipio MM. (2020) Vitamin D supplementation could possibly improve clinical outcomes of patients infected with Coronavirus-2019 (COVID- 2019). Preprint available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3571484
• 4. Raharusuna P, Priambada S, Budiarti C et al. (2020) Patterns of COVID-19 Mortality and Vitamin D: An Indonesian Study.
• 5. Ilie, P., Stefanescu, S., Smith, L. (2020) The role of Vitamin D in the prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 infection and mortality. Research Square preprint. https://europepmc.org/article/ppr/ppr147305
• 6. Lips P, Cashman K, Lamberg-Allardt C et al (2019) Current vitamin D status in European and Middle East countries and strategies to prevent vitamin D deficiency: a position statement of the European Calcified Tissue Society. Eur J Endocrinol. 180:23-54. https://europepmc.org/article/MED/30721133
• 7. Oaklander M (2020) Almost Every Hospitalized Coronavirus Patient Has Another Underlying Health Issue, According to a Study of New York Patients. Time Magazine, April 22, 2020. https://time.com/5825485/coronavirus-risk-factors
• 8. Richardson S, Hirsch JS, Narasimhan M. (2020) Presenting Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Outcomes Among 5700 Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 in the New York City Area. JAMA. 323:2052-2059. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2765184
• 9. Klingberg E, Oleröd G, Konar J, et al. (2015) Seasonal variations in serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels in a Swedish cohort. Endocrine, 49:800-808. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25681052
• 10. UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) (2016) Vitamin D and Health. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/537616/SACN_Vitamin_D_and_Health_report.pdf
• 11. Vieth R (2006) Critique of the considerations for establishing the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin D: critical need for revision upwards. J Nutr, 136:1117-1122. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16549491
• 12. Vieth R, Chan PC, MacFarlane GD. (2001) Efficacy and safety of vitamin D(3) intake exceeding the lowest observed adverse effect level. Am J Clin Nutr, 73:288-294. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11157326
• 13. Cashman KD, Ritz C, Adebayo FA, et al. (2019) Differences in the dietary requirement for vitamin D among Caucasian and East African women at Northern latitude. Eur J Nutr. 58:2281-2291. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30022296

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine
Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness.

For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

Find a Doctor: To locate an orthomolecular physician near you: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n09.shtml

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

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COVID-19 treated by Vitamin D - studies, reports, videos in VitaminDWiki follows

As of March 31, 2024, the VitaminDWiki COVID page had:  trial results,   meta-analyses and reviews,   Mortality studies   see related:   Governments,   HealthProblems,   Hospitals,  Dark Skins,   All 26 COVID risk factors are associated with low Vit D,   Fight COVID-19 with 50K Vit D weekly   Vaccines   Take lots of Vitamin D at first signs of COVID   166 COVID Clinical Trials using Vitamin D (Aug 2023)   Prevent a COVID death: 9 dollars of Vitamin D or 900,000 dollars of vaccine - Aug 2023
5 most-recently changed Virus entries

Recent COVID-19 articles Click here for all VIRUS articles on VitaminDWiki

• COVID fought by Vitamin D: 2.3X less likely to die of COVID if supplemented, 1.9 X less likely to become infected – meta-analysis March 2024
• US has the most vaccinations before age 1 and the most deaths - March 2024
• Benign Cancers of a portion of the brain increased 1.8 X after vaccines were available - March 2024
• Long-COVID 3.1 X more likely if insufficient amounts of Magnesium and Vitamin D – March 2024
• COVID US survey: 43% not expect to ever return to normal – Gallup March 2024
• COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, dropping in IQs - March 2024
• 100% not need COVID hospitalization with fluvoxamine plus one other drug – Thailand RCT April 2024
• COVID maximum downregulation of Vitamin D receptor and CYP27B1 resulted in death - Feb 2024
• COVID-19 vaccines adverse events: myocarditis, pericarditis, etc. (99 million people, not US) – Feb 2024
• COVID could have been stopped in Wuhan – book March 2024
• Vitamin D: Viral infections, Infectious diseases, EBV and MS, Virus and Cancers – Grant March 2024
• Senator Ron Johnson hosted talks on COVID treatments - 2020 - 2024
• COVID infection (without hospitalization) – 1.7X more likely to die in 6 months if low Vitamin D – March 2024
• COVID senior pneumonia deaths: 50% if low Vitamin D and unvaccinated vs 16% if Vitamin D or vaccinated – June 2023
• 5 X less COVID infection of health care workers who took lots of vitamin D – meta-analysis Feb 2024
• 18,000 schoolchildren in Canada to be suspended for not being vaccinated - Feb 2024
• Vaccines increased your risk of dying of COVID in NZ - official data - Feb 2024
• Study urged a global moratorium on mRNA vaccines (300 peer reviewers agreed) – Jan 2024
• CDC recommends 100 vaccinations by age 18 – Feb 2024
• Professor Raoult is calling for a moratorium on COVID-19 vaccines - Jan 2024
• COVID deaths cut in half by a single dose of 600,000 IU of Vitamin D - RCT Jan 2024
• Is 50 ng of Vitamin D enough to fight COVID - TrialSiteNews - Jan 2024
• COVID and or vaccinations causing less Vitamin D and more sickness - Jan 2024
• Long-COVID a month shorter if more than 20 ng of Vitamin D - Jan 2024
• COVID, Vitamin D, Drs. Grimes and Campbell - Jan 2024
• 
• All died of COVID with standard vitamin D, 25% survived if 10X more vitamin D (mice) – Dec 2023
• COVID infections and vaccinations decrease Vitamin D – many studies
• Moderna is monitoring 150 million websites for ‘Anti-Vaccine’ Narratives - Nov 2023
  • But not VitaminDWiki, so far
• The four viruses that are increasing at an ‘exponential rate’ (are all fought by Vitamin D) – Nov 2023
• COVID death rate 4X less at high altitude (more UVB which makes Vitamin D) - Oct 2023
• Doctors in NY cannot opt out of COVID boosters for children - Oct 2023
• Multiple COVID vaccinations might increase Cancer Incidence - many studies
• COVID fought by Vitamin D - video review of literature with transcript - Dec 2021
• What to do if you catch COVID - Dr. McCullough Sept 2023
• Long COVID with Neuro-Cognitive symptoms had especially low vitamin D levels – Sept 2023
• Mask studies for viral infection: 104 studies: ineffective, 61 studies: harmful - Sept 2023
• The ONLY Solution to Long COVID (Vitamin D) - video and transcript Sept 2023
• Long-COVID can hide in the body for years in scores of locations – Sept 2023
• Vaccine Clinical Trial - cardiovascular death 3.7X more likely if vaccinated - preprint Sept 2023
• One in five people with long COVID can no longer work (Doctors in this case) - Sept 2023
• Number of people with long COVID could be vastly underestimated - Aug 2023
• mRNA Vaccine Toxicity -free book by Doctors for COVID Ethics - Aug 2023
• Politics says put your masks back on, Science says masks may INCREASE COVID infection - Aug 2023
• Epstein-Barr Virus may be a prerequisite for Multiple Sclerosis - July 2023
• COVID Vaccinations increased risk of cardiac deaths in youths by 19% - Aug 2023
• Athletes who had been COVID infected had lower Vitamin D levels – July 2023
• Vitamin D was the most popular supplement during the COVID Pandemic – July 2023
• COVID cost the US 18,000 dollars per survivor, and many excess deaths - July 2023
  • Note: Prevent a COVID death: 9 dollars of Vitamin D or 900,000 dollars of vaccine - Aug 2023
• COVID, Long-COVID and Vitamin D in children - Review April 2023
• COVID in hospital stopped by Vitamin D Receptor activators (curcumin, quercetin) – RCT June 2023
• Children with COVID 4X more likely to have poor Vitamin D Receptors (Note: COVID deactivates VDR) – April 2023
• Chance of moderately severe COVID 3X less likely if plant-based diet – April 2021
• COVID, Long COVID, and Vitamin D – May 2023
• 3,400 peer-reviewed studies found COVID Vaccination problems as of April 2023
• COVID death 1.5 X less likely if high vitamin D, emergency D (50K to 100K) is great – meta-analysis March 2023
• Poor vaccine batches associated with adverse events - March 2023
  • Probably less of a problem if had high Vitamin D when vaccinated
• Excess deaths - 5 possible reasons - many studies
  • Probably multiple vaccinations wears out the immune system
  • Perhaps high vitamin D when vaccinated will not wear out the immune system 1  2   3
• COVID was associated with low Vitamin D or Zinc – umbrella review Feb 2023
• COVID predicted to be a pandemic that could be stopped by high dose vitamin D - Feb 2020
• COVID and other Virus fought by UV - many studies
• Seniors raised Vitamin D levels, more COVID survivors, less CKD (Slovakia) – Feb 2023
• COVID recovery 1.6X faster after 200,000 IU of Vitamin D RCT – Feb 2023
• Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome of COVID in Children 3X more likely if low Vitamin D – Feb 2023
• COVID was associated with low Vitamin D or Zinc – umbrella review Feb 2023
• Vitamin D, now conclusive (for COVID) - Dr. Campbell Video and transcript - Feb 1, 2023
• COVID ICU 3X less-likely if take any amount and type of Vitamin D – meta-analysis Jan 2023
• 2nd COVID infection increases the risk of Long-COVID - 2022
• More COVID vaccinations, more infections - Cleveland Clinic - Dec 2022
  • 
• COVID vaccination increased by 137X the risk of 10-14 year olds of dying (UK) – Jan 2023
• Chart of excess deaths and vaccination in the Netherlands - for 2022
• China: From Zero Covid to No Plan - people left to improvise - NYT Dec 18, 2022
• COVID variants in US evade bivalent vaccination by 3X to 13X – Cell Dec 13, 2022
• Fight infections such as COVID with 50 ng of Vitamin D – Sunil Dec 2022
• COVID and Vitamin D: any amount of D, at any time, for any duration reduced ICU - meta-analysis Dec 2022
• The vitamins and minerals that help the immune system respond to respiratory viruses – Dec 2022

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Intervention

Intervention Trial Summary Table

Details on #5 = COVIT-TRIAL Dec 27
Note: >70% of the RCT using Vitamin D to fight COVID-19 are using at least 100,000 IU during the first week

 

 

Trial Results 43 studies in both Virus and Intervention

This list is automatically updated

 

Virus meta-analyses and Systematic Reviews

   Short URL for this section = is.gd/vdwmeta

Reviews

• Vitamin D supplementation reduced risk of COVID-19 ICU by 2.8 X – review of 10 reviews Feb 2022
• COVID-19 and Vitamin D (42 studies, consensus) – Oct 2021

 

Observe - Less likely to become infected

short URL to this section = https://is.gd/COVID_less

• 
• 14 X less likely to have severe COVID if previously had more than 40 ng level of Vitamin D – Feb 2022
• COVID-19 patients had low levels of Zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Vitamin C – Sept 2021

Observe - Reduced Severity/Death

MORTALITY AND Virus (automatically updated):

• Vitamin D of 30-40 ng fights COVID, Dr. Grimes on Liverpool Study - March 2022
• Higher vitamin D, less severe COVID and deaths in hospital (in Iran this time) – Sept 2021

 

Vitamin D Dosing Recommendations for COVID-19

• COVID predicted to be a pandemic that could be stopped by high dose vitamin D - Feb 2020
• FLCCC COVID guidelines now include vitamin D loading doses - Jan 2022
• Vitamin D and COVID, review of evidence, loading dose if less than 50 ng - Masterjohn Sept 2021

Short URL for this section = https://is.gd/covitamind  https://is.gd/virusvitd

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