Using Vitamin D to treat Covid patients can reduce death by 60% - new study finds
Using Vitamin D as part of Covid-19 treatment can reduce death from the virus by 60 per cent, a new study has found.
The research, which looked at the effectiveness of using a Vitamin D3, called calcifediol, when treating Covid-19 patients, found those given doses of Vitamin D were 80 per less likely to require ICU.
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Hide AdReduced mortality of more than 60%
The study, published by the Social Science Research Network, was conducted by researchers from the University of Barcelona.
More than 550 people admitted to the Covid-19 wards of the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain were part of the research.
Subjects were randomly assigned as either recipients of the calcifediol treatment or as controls on admission. They then received five doses of the vitamin in increasing intervals of two, four, eight and 15 days.
Results from the study concluded that there was a “reduced mortality of more than 60 per cent” for those who were given the calcifediol treatment.
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Hide AdThe research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found 36 of the 551 patients treated with calcifediol lost their life from Covid-19, compared to 57 patients out of 379 in the control group.
Researchers said: “In this open randomised study conducted during the first European outbreak of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, we have observed that, in hospitalised Covid-19 patients, treatment with calcifediol reduced the requirement for critical care by more than 80 per cent.
“This supports the conclusion of a prior pilot trial in Cordoba in which calcifediol treatment led to a reduction of more than 50 per cent of ICU admission in hospitalised Covid-19 patients.”
Calls to increase Vitamin D to vulnerable
Former Brexit Secretary, MP David Davis, said the findings are part of a “very important study”.
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Hide AdThe MP, commenting on the study on his Twitter account, added: “The findings of this large and well conducted study should result in this therapy being administered to every Covid patient in every hospital in the temperate latitudes.
“Furthermore, since the study demonstrates that the clear relationship between vitamin D and Covid mortality is causal, the UK government should increase the dose and availability of free vitamin D to all the vulnerable groups.
“These approaches will save many thousands of lives. They are overdue and should be started immediately.”
Studies into the link between Vitamin D and Covid-19 got underway in the early days of the pandemic, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock keeping studies under review.
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Hide AdIt has been suggested that having low levels of the vitamin may have heightened the risk of mortality.
Reports from the Guardian revealed that Mr Hancock has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to continue to research emerging evidence after authorities began 'encouraging' people to take supplements,