CINCINNATI (WKRC) – So many people have been buying vitamin C, there’s now a worldwide shortage of the supplement that’s a perceived protection from this pandemic.
The run on vitamin C is rooted in our belief it knocks down nasty colds while fueled by social media claims that it has the same effect on COVID-19.
The claims are rooted in logic. The deadly novel coronavirus is a deadly version of the same coronavirus that causes about a third of all cases of the common cold. Several scientific studies have shown that vitamin C does lessen the effects of colds, though experts describe the effect as, “small” or “slight.”
At the epicenter of the pandemic, a team of Chinese researchers at a hospital in Wuhan began studying the effects of high doses of vitamin C on COVID-19 patients to see if it can be an effective treatment and save lives. Already, the researchers say early clinical studies are revealing vitamin C can effectively prevent sepsis and pneumonia, but they caution that their research is not yet conclusive.
Still, according to an article in the New York Post, the Chinese study led one of New York’s largest hospital systems, Northwell Health, to begin treating its COVID-19 patients with high doses of vitamin C.
According to the Post, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist said, “Intensive-care patients with the coronavirus immediately receive 1,500 milligrams of intravenous vitamin C,” adding that the supplement is readministered three or four times a day.
Dr. Andrew Weber told the Post, “The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not get vitamin C.”
That sounds promising, but what about the rest of us reaching for vitamin C to prevent us from catching COVID-19 or any form of coronavirus?
According to the Cochrane Library, a repository that publishes health care research: “Regular ingestion of vitamin C had no effect on common cold incidence…” And there is absolutely no medical evidence that vitamin C will protect you from COVID-19.
So, if you think you’re protecting yourself from COVID-19 by consuming lots of vitamin C, you’re WRONG.
But, while it’s early, high doses of vitamin C do appear to be a RIGHT treatment for critically ill COVID-19 patients who are fighting for their lives in the hospital.
