Day 239: More Vitamin D

The world has reached 33 million coronavirus cases, and is very close to one million deaths (prompting the WHO to prognosticate the next million deaths). India is about to reach 6 million cases, though their death rate is minuscule with not even 95,000 deaths so far. Now #43, Poland has crossed the China line.

The well-known benefits of Vitamin D continue to appear in studies, including this PLOS ONE article that concluded:

The association between lower SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates and higher circulating 25(OH)D levels remained significant in a multivariable logistic model adjusting for all included demographic factors (adjusted odds ratio 0.984 per ng/mL increment, 95% C.I. 0.983–0.986; p<0.001). SARS-CoV-2 positivity is strongly and inversely associated with circulating 25(OH)D levels, a relationship that persists across latitudes, races/ethnicities, both sexes, and age ranges. Our findings provide impetus to explore the role of vitamin D supplementation in reducing the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease.

Unfortunately, impetus is far from proof of the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation, though this study did go pretty far in separating out vitamin D levels from other confounding factors.

Fortunately, a previous study (dated next month but previously PlagueBlogged) already showed the efficacy of administration of vitamin D in treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Massachusetts' cases are up four ninths of a percentage point today.