16th September, Vitamin D and pandemic science
12th September, Vitamin D, Large scale studies
6th September, Vitamin D, Frist clinical trial
27th July, Vitamin D, Science
20th June, Vitamin D hits the media
10th June, Vitamin D update
18th May, Dr Shelton, Part 1, Reports from New Zealand
21st May, Dr Shelton, Part 2, Vitamin D
10th May, Vitamin D dose
15th April, Vitamin D and Immunity, Lots of evidence
9th March, Vitamin D and immunity
Correcting Britain’s Vitamin D deficiency could save thousands of lives (David Davis MP, Matt Ridley)
There is one chemical that:
is known to be safe
known to be needed by many people anyway
known to have a clinically proven track record of helping people fight off
respiratory diseases
is so cheap no big firm is pushing it
vitamin D
Vitamin D Levels Appear to Play Role in COVID-19 Mortality Rates
China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, United States.
Patients with severe deficiency are twice as likely to experience major complications
Spanish clinical trial
Calcifediol group, 2% required admission to the ICU
Control group 50% admitted to ICU
Put another way, the use of Vitamin D reduced a patient’s risk of needing intensive care 25-fold
The Government should now act on this latest evidence
We have good reason to think vitamin D supplementation will help reduce mortality from Covid-19
we know it can reduce the incidence and severity of the other acute respiratory illnesses
pressures from influenza during the winter months
This will no doubt save thousands of lives in any second wave
There is now no reason not to act
Covid-19: Do many people have pre-existing immunity? (21 September 2020, Eshani M King, BMJ)
Many have T cells that act against SARS-CoV-2 epitopes
Killing intracellular parasites
Critical in viral immunity
T cell response might be more important that B cell response
B‐cell response might be important, but is not strictly required to overcome the disease
Vaccines focused on antibody levels
Mild or asymptomatic cases, many T-cells are produced
In these mild cases, few or no detectable antibodies
Men produced fewer T-cells than women
Older men produce less T cells than younger men
Vitamin D controls T cell antigen receptor signaling and activation of human T cells, (University of Copenhagen)
Vitamin D essential to facilitate maturation of naïve T cells to dedicated, specific T cells
When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D
If there is an inadequate vitamin D level,
they won’t even begin to mobilize
Also
Physical mucosal defences
All other immune cells
Modulating cytokines
Problems
Obesity
Diabetes
BAME
Male
Elderly
City dwellers
Japan
Low death rate
Active elderly
Vitamin D levels of over 30 ng/ml (75 nmol/l) in 95%
UK average levels are below 20ng/ml (50 nmol/l)
The Role of Vitamin D deficiency in COVID-19 related deaths in BAME, Obese and Other High-risk Categories
To convert ng/ml of 25(OH)D to nmol/l the conversion factor is 2.5.
20ng/ml enough to prevent rickets, osteoporosis and osteomalacia
40-60ng/ml or more is required to achieve optimum immune system and cancer fighting capability
30 ng/ml being sufficient but not optimal
40-60ng/ml Maasai
IU mcg
400 10mcg
800 20mcg
1,000 25mcg
2,000 50mcg
4,000 100mcg
6,000 150mcg