Vitamin D and COVID-19, it helps

[Tom.G]

Published Sep. 25, 2020 in PLOS ONE:

Vitamin D sufficiency, a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D at least 30 ng/mL reduced risk for adverse clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 infection

Vitamin D [1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D; 1,25(OH)2D] blood level should be 30-55ng/ml for safe effectiveness. The video below also gives daily dosage in I.U. (1500-2000 I.U. daily for adults; 2 - 3 times as much if obese))

The article is rather dense.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0239799

The 4.5 minute video at the end easily gives you the important conclusions.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239799.s001

 

[Astronuc]

There have been studies linking Vitamin-D to lower cardiac risk, or lower heart disease, and heart disease is a leading comorbidity with COVID-19 (SARS-Cov-2). Scientific American has an article showing deaths per week due to COVID-19 in the US. One point of interest is the cyclical nature of deaths due to heart disease with the greatest rates in the winter, late December to early January, which coincides with holidays (feasting), cold weather and short days. Could one reason be the deficiency of Vitamin-D produced in the skin due to reduced sunlight and the fact that people wear more covering in the cold? Could seasonal affective disorder play a role?

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...the-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-u-s1/

The last figure in the article shows the causes on the plot. I'm not sure of the level of peer-review regarding the data.

 

[Shannon Mccarthy]

The prospect that vitamin supplements can be used to prevent or improve the condition is compelling. But research does not support this possibility. Also I read that vit D helps to regain smell and taste
https://shopwellabs.com/blogs/news/...-smell-and-taste-with-vitamins-after-covid-19

 

[atyy]

There is an editorial expression of concern about the paper in the OP - meaning the editors now think it could be misleading, although they didn't realize it when they accepted the paper.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240965
Expression of Concern: Vitamin D sufficiency, a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D at least 30 ng/mL reduced risk for adverse clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 infection
The PLOS ONE Editors

 

[Sagittarius A-Star]

An interesting coincidence related to vitamin D:

People with dark skin, such as those of African, African-Caribbean or south Asian origin, will need to spend longer in the sun to produce the same amount of vitamin D as someone with lighter skin.

Source:
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/how-to-get-vitamin-d-from-sunlight/

Pacific Islander, Latino, Indigenous and Black Americans all have a COVID-19 death rate of double or more that of White and Asian Americans, who experience the lowest age-adjusted rates.

Source:
https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race

 

[artis]

@Sagittarius A-Star Well I don't think that black etc race deaths are higher because of vitamin D because given most of these folks live in climate with lots more sun than the average white race gets in Europe or North America it wouldn't make sense.

I think it mainly has to do with preexisting conditions and and overall health condition at the moment of infection. It could also be that the ability to have quality and modern healthcare for those that have a critical and bad case of Covid is a very determining factor in the total number of deaths within certain population.