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UK Clinical Trial to Investigate Whether Vitamin D Protects Against COVID-19

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London have launched a new clinical trial to investigate whether taking vitamin D could protect people from COVID-19.

CORONAVIT will run for 6 months and involve more than 5000 people to find out whether a 'test-and-treat' approach to correct vitamin D deficiency during winter will reduce the risk and/or severity of COVID-19 and other acute respiratory infections.

The trial involves participants doing a postal finger prick vitamin D test, which will be processed in an NHS lab. Participants found to have low levels of vitamin D will then be given a six months' supply (also via post) of either 800 or 3200 IU of vitamin D a day.

The research team will track the incidence of doctor-diagnosed or laboratory-confirmed acute respiratory infection in participants, including COVID-19, to see whether vitamin D supplementation affects their risk and severity of infection.

While there is an ongoing debate as to whether vitamin D could play a key role in protecting people from COVID-19, definite evidence on this is lacking. In June 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) rapid evidence review found no data to support the use of vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk or severity of COVID-19.

However, lead researcher of this study, Prof Adrian Martineau noted that in the UK, vitamin D deficiency is more common in older people, in people who are overweight and in Black and Asian people – all of whom are at an increased risk of becoming very ill with COVID-19.

Principal Investigator of the study, Dr David Jolliffe added: "CORONAVIT trial has the potential to give a definitive answer to the question of whether vitamin D offers protection against COVID-19. Vitamin D supplements are low in cost, low in risk and widely accessible; if proven effective, they could significantly aid in our global fight against the virus."

This article originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.

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