In the letter (signed by 120 on Friday the 18th, but rising rapidly), scientists are calling for an immediate and widespread increase in vitamin D intake to 4,000 international units (IU) per day (or at least 2,000) for healthy adults.
This comes just days after British government health agencies SACN and NICE had denied there was sufficient evidence to specifically support increased vitamin D intake for COVID-19. (…)
Scientists involved in the open letter say the global patterns and risk factors for the Covid-19 pandemic and vitamin D deficiency coincide “precisely” because of the impact on immune function. They say research shows that low levels of vitamin D markedly increase the likelihood of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths.
The group of scientists calls for an immediate, widespread and increased intake of vitamin D, with most signatories declaring that they personally take at least 4,000 international units (IU) a day, many take more.
They say that the new specific mechanisms of SARS-Cov-2 are now well known, with the set of evidence including: Several identified biological mechanisms that show how vitamin D directly influences the results of COVID-19, More than 70 studies showing higher levels of vitamin D are associated with lower rates of infection and lower risk of hospitalization, ICU or death, as well as initial causal inference studies confirmed by published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) recently and quasi- experimental studies.
The main organizers of the campaign are Dr Karl Pfleger (USA) and Dr Gareth Davies (UK), both of whom have training in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science as well as Medicine. The letter has a growing list of 120 signatories. More than a hundred are doctors, or both, and more than 60 are teachers. Two British MPs – David Davis and Rupa Huq – have also signed the letter.
Martin Hewison, a professor of molecular endocrinology at the University of Birmingham and one of the world’s leading authorities on vitamin D, has signed the letter after strongly criticizing SACN and NICE, calling his reports “disappointing”.
He reacted to the latest NICE report, stating: “NICE, SACN and PHE continue to promote the idea of vitamin D ‘toxicity’, although there is no evidence in trials where up to 4,000 IU / day of vitamin D was used. This obsession has become a a major hurdle in improving the health of vitamin D in the UK Many vitamin D researchers have worked tirelessly over the summer to provide a framework in which vitamin D supplementation could be incorporated into the overall strategies used to defeat COVID-19. NICE, SACN and PHE have rejected it and their new recommendations offer little or no help to the British public. ”(…)
Deputy David Davis has been a vocal advocate of vitamin D throughout the pandemic. He says, “Evidence from several dozen studies shows that vitamin D deficiency / insufficiency is implicated in compromising the body’s immune response to respiratory diseases in general and COVID-19 in particular. (…)
“The likely effect of correcting this deficiency is to reduce susceptibility to infection and reduce morbidity and mortality among people infected with the virus. In the unlikely event that all this evidence is an artifact, the costs and risks for health are minimal. (…)
“In the much more likely case that multiple sources of observational evidence and evidence of increasing ACE numbers, show a real causal role of vitamin D in the activation and modulation of the immune system, it would be irresponsible not to administer vitamin D to all groups at risk of COVID-19. It will save lives, improve the immunity of the population and help reduce the economic and medical impact while we wait for the universal launch of vaccines. (…)
“Also, if it is to have any material effect, the dose should be sufficient to correct the existing deficiency, which means up to ten times the daily intake recommended by the UK.”(…)
Signatory David S Grimes, a retired gastroenterologist, has campaigned for vitamin D to be taken more seriously for years. He says: “[NICE and SACN] they have ignored past and current research and instead claim that “there is not enough evidence to support vitamin D use.” The NHS has been denied the use of calcifediol, a fast-acting form of vitamin D, in the treatment of Covid-19 pneumonia, although in a clinical trial it has been shown to be 96% effective. . The UK has had 25,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the study was published, although NICE continues to claim “there is not enough evidence”. They have a lot to answer for. They are a national disgrace. “(…)
The letter is published on the web at VitaminDforAll.org.