MP has written to the Secretary
of State for Health and Social Care requesting that he orders a
review of the evidence and initiates further research to establish
whether vitamin D supplementation has a significant impact on COVID
- 19 infections.
Mr Davis also calls on the Government to provide free vitamin D
supplements to at risk groups, should the research show it is
likely to have a significant effect and in the event we do not
have a vaccine available.
There have been numerous studies into the effect of Vitamin D
supplementation on respiratory infections.
Firstly a meta-analysis of 25 randomised controlled trials was
published in the British Medical Journal on 15 February 2017
which concluded: "Vitamin D supplementation was safe and
protected against acute respiratory tract infection overall.
Patients who were very vitamin D deficient and those not
receiving bolus doses experienced the most benefit."
Another notable study is the Northwestern University Covid-19
study of which an author said their analysis of health levels of
vitamin D shows "that it might be as high as cutting the
mortality rate in half."
Finally, a group of medical research professionals wrote to the
British Journal of Medicine on 24 April concluding "a safe simple
step, the correction of a deficiency state, vitamin D this time,
convincingly holds out a potential, significant, feasible COVID -
19 mitigation remedy."
Commenting on his letter MP said:
"There is a significant chance that even if we avoid a spike in
infections after the lifting of the lockdown, we could get a new
surge in the winter. In the event that we do not have a vaccine
or treatment within sufficient time we need to think of fallback
strategies.
So far some of the most effective strategies have been simple
ones such washing hands and social distancing.
If a vaccine or treatment is not available in time, it may be
that a free vitamin D supplement for the at risk groups to remove
nutritional deficiencies will mitigate some of the harm from
coronavirus.
The government should immediately institute research to establish
the validity of such an approach to give it an extra policy
option come the winter."
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Attached is the letter MP sent to , Secretary of State for Health
and Social Care.
