Vitamin D, Covid, and Skin Color

Does Vitamin D Protect Against Covid-19?

The science about possible protection from severe COVID-19 disease by Vitamin D is not complete at this time.  Nevertheless, strong evidence suggests that Vitamin D does protect against COVID-19, both by helping our immune systems fight off the virus, as well as protecting our lungs from the harmful inflammation that causes severe illness.

What is the evidence?

  1. Multiple studies have found that low levels of Vitamin D are associated with worse outcomes to COVID infection [1-10]. 
  2. Vitamin D helps us fight off other respiratory (lung) infections, such as colds and flu [11-15].
  3. Vitamin D can help reduce levels of inflammatory cytokines that are known to be a risk factor in severe COVID illness [16-23].

This evidence is so strong that:

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends it [24].

  • Vitamin D is frequently given to COVID patients in the hospital, including Donald Trump [25,26].

  • The government in Scotland is giving free Vitamin D to residents, to help ward off severe COVID [27].

This website has information on how much Vitamin D you need, how the color of your skin might affect your Vitamin D levels, and the best ways to increase your Vitamin D levels.

REFERENCES

  1. Meltzer, D. et al. 2020. Association of Vitamin D Status and Other Clinical Characteristics With COVID-19 Test Results. JAMA Netw. Open. 3: e2019722.
  2. Jain, A. et al.  Analysis of vitamin D level among asymptomatic and critically ill COVID-19 patients and its correlation with inflammatory markers.  Sci. Rep. 10:20191.
  3. Benskin, L. 2020. A Basic Review of the Preliminary Evidence That COVID-19 Risk and Severity Is Increased in Vitamin D Deficiency. Front. Public Health. 8:513.
  4. Kaufman, H. et al.  2020. SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates associated with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. PLoS One. 15:e0239252.
  5. Martineau, A. & Forouhi, N. 2020.  Vitamin D for COVID-19: a case to answer? Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 8:735.
  6. Slominski, R. et al.  2020. COVID-19 and Vitamin D: A lesson from the skin. Exp. Dermatol. 10.1111/exd.14170.
  7. Fidler, S. et al.  Can Vitamin D Help Fight Covid-19? Wall St Journal. Nov. 2, 2020.
  8. Grant, W. et al. 2020. Evidence that Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths. Nutrients. 12:988.
  9. Munshi, R. et al. 2020. Vitamin D insufficiency as a potential culprit in critical COVID-19 patients. J. Med. Virol. doi: 10.1002/jmv.26360.
  10. Frieden, T. Former CDC Chief Dr. Tom Frieden: Coronavirus infection risk may be reduced by Vitamin D. Fox News. March 23, 2020.
  11. McGreevy, S. & Morrison, M.  2017. Study confirms vitamin D protects against colds and flu. The Harvard Gazette.
  12. Hansfottir, S et al.  2010. Vitamin D decreases respiratory syncytial virus induction of NF-kappaB-linked chemokines and cytokines in airway epithelium while maintaining the antiviral state. J Immunol. 184:965.
  13. Martineau, A. et al.  2017. Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data. The British Medical Journal. 356:i6583.
  14. Ginde, A. et al.  2017. High-Dose Monthly Vitamin D for Prevention of Acute Respiratory Infection in Older Long-Term Care Residents: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J. American Geriatric Society 65: 496.
  15. Sabetta, J. et al.  2010. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and the incidence of acute viral respiratory tract infections in healthy adults. PLoS One. 5:e11088.
  16. di Rosa, M. et al.  2011. Vitamin D3: a helpful immune-modulator. Immunology 134:123.
  17. Khoo, A-L. et al.  2011. Regulation of cytokine responses by seasonality of vitamin D status in healthy individuals. Clin. Exp. Immunol. 164:72.
  18. Skrobot, A. et al.  2018. Immunomodulatory Role of Vitamin D: A Review. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 1108:13.
  19. Daneshkhah, A. et al.  2020. Evidence for possible association of vitamin D status with cytokine storm and unregulated inflammation in COVID-19 patients. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 32:2141.
  20. Cao, X.  2020. COVID-19: immunopathology and its implications for therapy. Nature Rev. Immunol. 20:269.
  21. Mehta, P. et al.  2020. COVID-19: consider cytokine storm syndromes and immunosuppression. Lancet  395:1033.
  22. Garvin, M. et al.  2020. A mechanistic model and therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 involving a RAS-mediated bradykinin storm. eLife  9:e59177.
  23. Dasgupta, A. 2020. Is a Bradykinin Storm Brewing in COVID-19? The Scientist. August 26, 2020.
  24. Scipioni, J.  The supplement Dr. Fauci takes to help keep his immune system healthy.  CNBC. September 14, 2020.
  25. Entrenas Castillo, M. et al. 2020. Effect of Calcifediol Treatment and best Available Therapy versus best Available Therapy on Intensive Care Unit Admission and Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Pilot Randomized Clinical study. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 203:105751.
  26. Radcliffe, S. Here’s What to Know About Trump’s Experimental COVID-19 Treatment.  Healthline.com, October 5, 2020.
  27. Horne, M.  Coronavirus in Scotland: Vulnerable will receive vitamin D supplements.  The Times (of London)  October 28, 2020.