Vitamin D in Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19: Current Perspective and Future Prospects
J Am Coll Nutr. 2020 Sep 1;1-14. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2020.1806758
Navya Vyas 1 2, Shilia Jacob Kurian 2 3, Debasis Bagchi 4, Mohan K Manu 2 5, Kavitha Saravu 2 6, Mazhuvancherry Kesavan Unnikrishnan 7, Chiranjay Mukhopadhyay 8, Mahadev Rao 3, Sonal Sekhar Miraj 2 3
VitaminDWiki
COVID-19 treated by Vitamin D - studies, reports, videos as of July 29 includes
- 21 trials (generally treatment, not prevention), +10 observational studies,
- +7 recommendations, +34 associations, +58 speculations, +20 videos,
and has the following recent updates
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 VitaminDWiki
Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) partly explains geographical differences in COVID-19 susceptibility, severity, and mortality. VDD among African-Americans, diabetics, hypertensive, and aged populations possibly explain the higher death rate, aggravated by cocooning. Vitamin D is pleiotropic, mediating bone metabolism, calcium homeostasis, and immune functions, whereas VDD is associated with inflammatory reactions and immune dysfunction, predisposing individuals to severe infections.
Vitamin D modulates innate and adaptive immunity via the expression of genes that code antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). And the expression of cluster of differentiation (CD)14, the co-receptor for epidermal toll-like receptor (TLR)4. AMPs stimulate TLR2 in macrophages, increasing the conversion of vitamin D into its active form by cytochrome P450 27B1. Antiviral properties of vitamin D-induced AMPs can shift the polarization of the adaptive immune response from helper T cells (Th)1 to the more regulatory Th2 responses that suppress immune over-reactivity by preventing cytokine storm, which is already demonstrated during the Spanish flu episode.
Vitamin D induces antiviral effects by both direct and indirect mechanisms via
- AMPs,
- immunomodulation,
- the interplay between major cellular and viral elements,
- induction of autophagy and apoptosis,
- variation of genetic and epigenetic factors.
The crosstalk between vitamin D and intracellular signaling pathways may operate as a primary regulatory action on viral gene transcription.
VDD may increase the likelihood of infection with enveloped viruses, including
- retrovirus,
- hepatitis, and
- dengue.
Key teaching points
Vitamin D induces antiviral effects by direct and indirect mechanisms via
- AMPs,
- immunomodulation,
- induction of autophagy, etc.
Epidemiology of VDD partly explains geographical differences in COVID-19
- susceptibility,
- severity, and
- mortality.
Global data correlates severe VDD with COVID-19 associated
- coagulopathy,
- disrupted immune response and
- mortality,
- reduced platelet count, and
- prolonged prothrombin time,
together suggesting benefits from supplementation. Many clinical trials are underway globally to delineate the role of vitamin D in both prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
RCT Summary at VitaminDWiki - constantly updated