Are Adequate Vitamin D Levels Helpful in Fighting COVID-19? A Look at the Evidence
Horm Metab Res. 2020 Sep 17. doi: 10.1055/a-1243-5462
Caroline Wei Shan Hoong # 1, Koh Huilin # 1, Sanda Cho 2,
Veeraraghavan Meyyur Aravamudan # 1,Jaime Hui Xian Lin # 1
Fewer deaths if higher D
Fewer cases if higher D
Data points
Mortality and case data from Worldometer as of May 23
VitaminDWiki
Many more trials are in the pipeline
Click on chart for details
Recent updates on VitaminDWiki
Includes the RCT from Spain as of Sept 20
Top Vitamin D and COVID-19 recent updates
- Vaccine effectiveness may drop to only 16% in 6 months if time between jabs was only 3 weeks – July 2021
- Vitamin D known to fight 8 classes of health problems, probably fight COVID-19 as well – July 2021
- Vitamin D, C, A, and E, as well as Iron, Se, and Zinc each augment vaccine response – July 2021
- Vitamin D is one of 14 ways proven to treat COVID-19 – July 2021
- COVID-19 death 40 percent less likely if supplemented with Vitamin D and got above 30 ng (Spain 108,000 people) – July 2021
- Children getting severe COVID-19 were 5.5 X more likely to have low vitamin D -July 2021
- 5,000 U daily raised Vitamin D a bit and helped COVID-19 a bit – RCT June 2021
- Severe COVID-19 3.5 more likely if low vitamin D (30 studies) – meta-analysis July 2021
- 7X less likely to go to ICU if COVID-19 ward gave calcifediol (semi-activated Vitamin D) – July 2021
- Poor food, little intense exercise again associated with low Vitamin D (and more COVID-19 in this case) – July 2021
- If low vitamin D, 2.5X more likely enter hospital with COVID-19 (UK, 10 months) – June 17, 2021
- COVID-19 patients who had supplemented with Vitamin D were 3X less likely to enter ICU – June 2021
- Vitamin D and COVID-19 both affect immune cells – June 2021
- Pandemics are now every few years, next might be in 2025 (Vitamin D levels have crashed) – June 2021
- Higher rate of serious Vaccination problems than COVID-19 deaths – June 24, 2021
- COVID-19 5X worse if poor Vitamin D gene (CYP2R1) – June 2021
- 600,000 IU of Vitamin D helped 26 out of 28 COVID-19 patients in ICU (Brazil and Bolivia) June 2021
- 3 billion dollars being spent on developing a pill to treat pandemic viruses (ignoring Vitamin D)
- COVID-19 death in hospital 5X more likely if low vs high vitamin D – preprint June 2021
- COVID-19 and variants are here to stay (he fails to mention that vitamin D might help) - June 2021
- Vitamin D reduces COVID-19 complications (188 publications, 90 dollar paywall) – June 2021
- How Vitamin D, Magnesium, Omega-3 and Zinc prevent and treat COVID-19 and many other health problems – June 2021
- More than enough evidence on the Yellow Card system to declare the COVID-19 vaccines unsafe for use in humans. - June 9, 2021
- COVID-19 deaths 1.7X more likely if low vitamin D (even after “adjusting” for low D health problems) – May 2021
- Vitamin D has the most supporting science of all micronutrients to fight COVID-19 – May 2021
- COVID-19 fought by Vitamin D, how much more evidence is needed -May 2021
- COVID-21 (COVID-19 with mutations) causing increased pregnancy problems in Brazil and India – May 2021 Pregnancy
- COVID-19, dark skin, pregnancy - Dr. Grimes, etc. - May 2021 Pregnancy
- Increased pregnancy problems with COVID-19 – meta-analysis and letter to editor – April 2021 Pregnancy
- Vitamin D Receptor activation should reduce ARDS associated with COVID-19 - June 2020
- Half of COVID-19 death rate differences explained by rates of elderly influenza vaccination and low vitamin D – April 2021
- COVID-19 inflammation extinguished by 60,000 IU of vitamin D nanoemulsion daily for a week – RCT May 2021
- Treatments for 303,000 COVID-19 patients: vitamin D is both popular and over-the-counter – May 2021
- Dr. Fauci speculates on future use of masks in the winter (when vitamin D levels are low) May 2021
- Country reliant on tourism vaccinated, but now 1 in 1,000 get COVID-19 daily - May 2021
- Many supplements appear to fight COVID-19 – vitamin D cited 52 times – May 2021
- COVID-19 deaths 1.5X less likely if more than 40 ng of vitamin D – US VA – April 2021
- Growing consensus: COVID-19 symptoms are due to infected blood vessels - April 2021
- COVID-19 while pregnant increased many infant health problems by 1.5X – April 29, 2021 Pregnancy
- Multiple Sclerosis patients had fewer COVID-19 problems (Note: many MSers take Vitamin D) – April 30, 2021
- Problems with vaccine use during a pandemic - Dr. Bossche interview with transcript - April 22, 2021
- Vitamin D supplementation and high levels reduce COVID-19 deaths in elderly – Review April 17, 2021
- Co-Epidemic of Obesity and COVID-19 (a co-epidemic of Vitamin D not mentioned) – April 2021
- Vitamin D fights many health symptoms, including COVID-19: Dr. Mahtani video and transcript - April 2021
- COVID-19 vaccines look good in the short term, but probably not good for the long term
- COVID-19 while pregnant is not good (increased risk of dying by 22X) – April 2021 Pregnancy
- COVID-19 increased chance of death within 6 months by 1.6X, even if not hospitalized – April 2021
- Elderly nutrition and COVID-19 – systematic review July 2021
- Hospitalized children with COVID-19 and inflammation had lower vitamin D – March 2021
- Probablity of COVID-19 death increased 8X if had Periodionttitis
- COVID-19 risks reduced by Vitamin D, Magnesium, Zinc, Resveratrol, Omega-3, etc. (auto-updated)
- Long-haul COVID-19 - another hint that Vitamin D should help - Dec 2020
- 6X less risk of COVID-19 ICU if Vitamin D and Vit B12 and Mg – Jan 2021
- Vitamin D supplementation and high levels reduce COVID-19 deaths in elderly – Review April 17, 2021
- Severe childhood COVID-19 associated with Vitamin D deficiency (hospital in Finland) – March 2021
- Kidney patients who happened to be getting high-dose Calcitriol were 9X less likely to die of COVID-19 - April 6, 2021
- Overview of reviews of COVID-19 and vitamin D, etc. – April 2021
- Less COVID-19 infection, mortality in countries with higher Vitamin D (Asia in this case) – May 2021
- COVID-19 was the third-leading cause of death in the US, especially in those with dark skins - April 1, 2021
- Children with COVID-19 and low levels of Vitamin D have more severe cases – March 31, 2021
- Risk of COVID-19 death was 4.9 X higher if very low vitamin D – March 31, 2021 17th mortality observation
- Diabetes has many bidirectional links with COVID-19 – March 2021
- Diabetes is one of the 26 health risks identified by the CDC for getting COVID-19 - ALL of which are associated with low vitamin D
- COVID-19 was 2.6X more severe if very low Vitamin D (43 studies) – meta-analysis March 26, 2021
- To protect against COVID-19, how much vitamin D – 20 to 50 ng – March 19, 2021
- COVID-19 mortality for Parkinson’s is 1 in 5, speculates that vitamin D could help - March 18, 2021
- Prefer 40 – 60 ng of Vitamin D to minimize COVID-19 – March 17, 2021
- The lower the Vitamin D, the worse the COVID-19 (600 in Turkey)– March 2021
- COVID-19 prognostic indicators in plasma extrapolate to zero if Vitamin D is 40 to 80 ng – March 2021
- COVID public health messages 1, 2, and 3 should be - vitamin d vitamin d, vitamin d (video and transcript) - Mar 5, 2021
- COVID-19 mortality 2X higher if low Vitamin D (Mexican hospital, preprint) - March 2021
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and long-haul COVID-19
- low vitamin D, autoimmune and cytokine storms may be involved on both
- 2.1 X more COVID-19 deaths in European countries with less than 20 ng of vitamin D – March 12, 2021
- Supporting non-standard but proven ways to fight COVID-19 can result in job loss – March 2021
- 3X less likely to die of COVID-19 if good level of vitamin D (seniors in Boston)– March 8, 2021
- Low Vitamin D associated with 2.7X more severe COVID-19 – 12th MA March 5, 2021
- COVID-19 fought by Vitamin D or Heat - Drs Seheult and Patrick video - March 3, 2021
- Vitamin D Deficiency and Covid-19: Book by Drs Anderson and Grimes - July 2020
- Vitamin D recommendations for COVID-19 – Spanish Geriatrics Society – March 2021
- 250,000 FREE bottles of vitamin D to fight COVID-19 by Dr. Murray at iHerb – March 3 2021 Dr. Oz show
- Vitamin D and COVID-19 webinar - Feb 24, 2021
- Mongolia's National Vitamin D3 Program started in 2019
- COVID-19 what it is, prevention by Functional Nutrition doctor - Feb 2021
- All COVID-19 in ICU had low vitamin D, no difference in outcome if low vs very low – Feb 2021
- Low-cost Ivermectin and Vitamin D fight COVID-19 – Marik video 1 hr – Feb 18, 2021
- Low vitamin D associated with COVID-19 problems in NYC hospitals – Feb 2021
- All COVID-19 patients had low vitamin D, the lowest were more likely to die – Feb 18, 2021
- 200,000 IU of Vitamin D can not catch up when COVID-19 has a 10 day head start – RCT Feb 17, 2021
- 5X less likely to enter ICU with COVID-19 if get Calcifediol (semi-activated vitamin D) - RCT Feb 19, 2021
- Ultra-Orthodox Jews have high levels of COVID-19 (and ultra low Vitamin D ) - Feb 2021
- c19study.com/d Summary of Vitamin D and COVID studies (the following is updated automatically)
- Vitamin D can prevent severe COVID-19 in Latin America too – review Feb 1, 2021
- Vitamin D and COVID-19: 1 hour simple video - Jan 31, 2021
- Higher vitamin D in a country is associated with fewer COVID-19 cases (in Asia) Feb 3, 2021 44th association
- Vitamin-D and COVID-19: time for the profession to take a stand – Jan 20, 2021
- Roll Call of Credible Experts Advocating Vitamin D for COVID-19 - Jan 26, 2021
- Call for immediate action - Fight COVID-19 with vitamin D (up to 4,000 IU) - Jan 28, 2021
- Vitamin D, Zinc, etc. look promising for COVID-19 (Holick) – Jan 25, 2021
- Heavy Smokers 2.2 X more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (they typically have 10 ng less Vitamin D) Jan 25 FREE PDF
- Vitamin D plus Inositol might help pregnancies during COVID-19 – April 2021
- MATH plus protocol for COVID-19 includes Calcifediol or Vitamin D - Jan 2021
- Vitamin D supplementation fights COVID-19 – 11th meta-analysis Jan 24, 2021
- Vitamin D helps the immune system fight COVID-19 – video Jan 21, 2021
- COVID-19 2.7 X more likely to be severe if less than 8 ng of vitamin D (China) – Jan 2021
- 2.7 fewer COVID-19 hospital deaths in those having more than 30 ng of vitamin D – Mayo Jan 9, 2021
- Vitamin D Help Us Fight Infections - interview of Dr. Thakkar (transcript) Jan 20, 2021
- COVID-19 onset strongly associated with latitude in Europe (Vitamin D)– Jan 21, 2021
- France: 73 experts and 6 academies recommend vitamin D to prevent COVID-19 Jan 19, 2021
- Worse COVID-19 patients got 400,000 IU of vitamin D, deaths cut in half – Jan 14, 2021
- Vitamin D-COVID interview by Dr. Campbell of Davies (member of UK Parliament) - Jan 17, 2021
- Iranians with COVID-19 were 2.3 X more likely to die if low vitamin D – Jan 2021
- Many COVID-19 risks are associated with low vitamin D (7 studies) – Systematic Review Jan 2021
- 40 ng of Vitamin D to fight COVID 15K to 50K weekly or 100K monthly - Spanish Jan 2021
- Poor COVID-19 prognosis was 6 X more likely if low vitamin D – Jan 21, 2021
- Unraveling the roles of vitamin D status and melanin during COVID-19 (Review) Jan 11
- 30 x fewer COVID-19 deaths in those getting 400,000 IU of Vitamin D - Jan 2021
- 2.8 X fewer COVID-19 nursing home deaths if add 10,000 IU Vitamin D daily for a week (small observation)- Jan 2021
- 3.7 X less likely to die of COVID-19 if supplemented with Vitamin D - meta-analysis Jan 5, 2021
- COVID-19 test positive 4.5 X more likely if had low vitamin D test within 4 years – Jan 6, 2021
- Don’t Let COVID-19 Patients Die With Vitamin D Deficiency - Jan 5, 2021
- Less likely to test positive for COVID-19 if higher Vitamin D – meta-analysis Jan 6, 2021
- Vitamin D reduces COVID-19 by 80 percent - anonymous meta-analysis - Jan 5, 2021
- COVID 19 Video - Drs. Seheult and Campbell : Lessons Learned and a Look Ahead - Jan 4
- Many drugs increase ACE2 and COVID-19 (176 page review) - Dec 2020
- Italian nursing home COVID-19 – 4X less likely to die if taking Vitamin D– Dec 22, 2020
- Take 50,000 IU of Vitamin D weekly before and after COVID-19 vaccination by VItaminDWiki
- COVID-19 lung infection upsets Vitamin D genes (so more or different form of Vit D is required) - Dec 22, 2020
- COVID-19 Disease and Vitamin D: A Mini-Review – Dec 15, 2020
- French Consensus – 200,000 IU of Vitamin D if get COVID-19 – Dec 22, 2020
- Rational approach to COVID-19: 50k-100k of Vitamin D weekly – Dec 2020
- Shift workers 2X more likely to get COVID-19 (low Vitamin D) - Dec 2020
- COVID-19 plus pneumonia in ICU with low vitamin D equaled Death - Dec 2020
- Excellent on-going analysis of Vitamin D and COVID-19 publications
- Those getting intermittent vitamin D were 7 X less likely to die of COVID-19 - Dec 11, 2020
- COVID-19 patients with low vitamin D had far fewer natural killer cells – Dec 2020
- COVID-19 Vitamin D: Overview of Evidence by Dr. Seheult (Video and transcript) - Dec 10, 2020
- 75 articles indicate that Vitamin D should fight COVID-19 – Evidence Review Dec 10, 2020
- COVID-19 Vitamin D: Overview by Dr. in Sri Lanka (Video and transcript) - Dec 8, 2020
- Vitamin D recommended to fight COVID-19 by 2 groups – Dec 7, 2020
- Vitamin D helps athletes while reducing their COVID-19 risk - Dec 4, 2020
- 5X more likely to test positive for COVID-19 if low vitamin D in previous 5 years (900,000 people) - Dec 4, 2020
- 5.8 X more likely to die of COVID-19 if low vitamin D - Systematic Review Dec 3, 2020
- Evidence of Vitamin D fighting COVID-19 etc. - take 4,000 IU if less than 20 ng (UK) – Dec 1, 2020
- 3.8 X higher risk of COVID-19 death if low vitamin D – Belgium Nov 25, 2020
- Hyperglycemic 2X more likely to have severe COVID-19 - Nov 2020 Diabetes
- A Medical School COVID-19 protocol includes Vitamin D for all phases – Marik Nov 2020
- Fight COVID-19 without drugs or vaccines, Vitamin D is the single most-studied way – Nov 2020
- Hospital COVID-19 observation: 7X more likely to live if more than 20 ng of vitamin D– Nov 19, 2020
- Higher vitamin D associated with fewer cases and deaths in India Nov 2020
- COVID-19 defeated 3x faster by 420,000 IU Vitamin D nanoemulsion – RCT Nov 12, 2020
- 9X COVID-19 survival in nursing home if had 80,000 IU dose of vitamin D in previous month – Oct 2020
- Rate of COVID-19 test positive is 40 pcnt lower if high vitamin D (192,000 people) - Holick Sept 2020
Download the PDF from sci-hub via VitaminDWiki
COVID-19 is a global pandemic with high mortality in vulnerable groups. Given the current lack of definitive treatment or vaccine that significantly reduces mortality rate, governments, researchers and healthcare providers are racing to find possible solutions to the crisis. Vitamin D and its analogues have been previously studied for their non-skeletal benefits. In particular, questions regarding their role in the modulation of immunity have re-surfaced, in view of possible epidemiological links observed between COVID-19 and vitamin D levels in selected populations. In this review, we highlight potential mechanisms and summarise the evidence for and against the potential role of vitamin D supplementation in our fight against COVID-19.
References for the table
- 81) Forrest KYZ, Stuhldreher WL. Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults. Nutr Res 2011; 31: 48-54
- Sarafin K, Durazo-Arvizu R, Tian L et al. Standardizing 25-hydroxyvita- min D values from the Canadian Health Measures Survey. Am J Clin Nutr 2015; 102: 1044-1050
- Eloi M, Horvath DV, Szejnfeld VL et al. Vitamin D deficiency and seasonal variation over the years in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Osteoporos Int 2016; 27: 3449-3456
- Karonova T, Andreeva A, Nikitina I et al. Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in the North-West region of Russia: A cross-sectional study. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 164: 230-234
- Rabenberg M, Scheidt-Nave C, Busch MA et al. Vitamin D status among adults in Germany--results from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1). BMC Public Health 2015; 15: 641
- LJM Boonman-de Winter, Albersen A, Mohrmann K et al. High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the south-west Netherlands. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2015; 159: A8167
- Larose TL, Chen Y, Camargo CA et al. Factors associated with vitamin D deficiency in a Norwegian population: the HUNT Study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2014; 68: 165-170
- Nakamura K, Kitamura K, Takachi R et al. Impact of demographic, environmental, and lifestyle factors on vitamin D sufficiency in 9084 Japanese adults. Bone 2015; 74: 10-17
- Wat WZM, Leung JYY, Tam S et al. Prevalence and impact of vitamin D insufficiency in southern Chinese adults. Ann Nutr Metab 2007; 51: 59-64
- Lu H-K, Zhang Z, Ke Y-H et al. High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in China: Relationship with the levels of parathyroid hormone and markers of bone turnover. PLoS One 2012; 7: e47264
- Gill TK, Hill CL, Shanahan EM et al. Vitamin D levels in an Australian population. BMC Public Health 2014; 14: 1001
- Vitamin D. Status of New Zealand Adults [Internet]. Ministry of Health NZ. [cited 2020 May 26]
- Mogire RM, Mutua A, Kimita W et al. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Health 2020; 8: e134-e142
- Hosseinpanah F, Yarjanli M, Sheikholeslami F et al. Associations between vitamin D and cardiovascular outcomes; Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study. Atherosclerosis 2011; 218: 238-242
- Solak I, Cihan FG, Mercan S et al. Evaluation of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels in Central Anatolia, Turkey. Biomed Res Int 2018; 4076548
- 96) Batieha A, Khader Y, Jaddou H et al. Vitamin D status in Jordan: dress style and gender discrepancies. Ann Nutr Metab 2011; 58: 10-18