COVID-19: which group would you prefer to be in?
Updated: Jan 31, 2021
(Updated 01/02.2021)
If you are wondering why I am frustrated that our COVID-19 response strategy is ignoring the root cause reasons some people get very sick and die from this infection, here is one reason: most Kiwis are vitamin D deficient.
The research evidence is clear and convincing that this disease could be mild, as it already is for most people. Things could be a lot better for those most at risk, such as my Polynesian brothers and sisters. Let's look at the evidence for just one of many beneficial nutrients: Vitamin D - the "Sunlight Vitamin". Dark-skinned people like my partner, Alofa, need at least 10 times the sunlight as pale me. Is it just a coincidence that Polynesians with their brown skin are 10-18 times more likely to die than whiteys like me if they get infected, or is there a connection?
A pilot Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), reported that 98% of the treatment group did not get admitted to the ICU compared to 50% admission in the untreated group, of which 15% (2 people) later died. After adjusting for confounding variables, patients treated with vitamin D had 0.03 times the risk for ICU admission compared to non-treatment. Put another way, patients not treated with vitamin D had 33.3 times the risk of ICU admission compared to patients treated with vitamin D.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960076020302764?via%3Dihub
If you got COVID-19, would it satisfy you to receive standard treatment only?
Vitamin D is free from the sun and cheap as a non-patent supplement. Big Pharma and Big Medicine can not make trillions in profits from Vitamin D. One source for supplementation is lanolin from sheep's wool, which NZ has plenty of. How about we were to offer a healthy dose of Vitamin D to every man, woman and child in New Zealand for 20 cents a day? Actually, why not make it free to everyone? Vitamin D improves outcomes when given before infection and during all stages if infected with Vitamin D, so it is a no-brainer.
Conclusion
Vitamin D is an effective treatment for COVID-19. Random effects meta-analysis of the 14 treatment studies to date results in an estimated reduction of 70% in the effect measured, RR 0.30 [0.18-0.52].