Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted the normal activities of various settings, including clinics, laboratories, and libraries. As the world deals with the fast-mutating causative virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), apart from the search for the best vaccine candidate, efforts towards repurposing existing molecules to save lives must continue. Considerable interest has centered around the implications of vitamin D deficiency and its supplementation on the outcomes in patients with COVID-19. We hypothesize that vitamin D supplementation has the potential to confer protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and a severe COVID-19 course. Various animal, human observational as well as interventional studies have shown a protective role of vitamin D in COVID-19. More robustly designed studies where vitamin D is supplemented prophylactically and administered to those already infected are needed to determine the precise contribution of this supplementation in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and modifying the course of COVID-19.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted the normal activities of various settings, including clinics, laboratories, and libraries
As the world deals with the fast-mutating causative virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), apart from the search for the best vaccine candidate, efforts towards repurposing existing molecules to save lives must continue
We hypothesize that vitamin D supplementation has the potential to confer protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and a severe COVID-19 course
Summary
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mutates, we know of variants that are more transmissible than their predecessors [1,2]. HYPOTHESIS Our understanding of this vitamin, in-vitro models, and recent research suggest that vitamin D supplementation may have roles from preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection to reducing COVID-19 severity, as well as in mitigating the inflammation induced in the later phase of the disease. HYPOTHESIS TESTING Experimental models have revealed that 1,25dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol), the active form of vitamin D, downregulates the expression of angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 [14] It can reduce the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the cells and is likely to be of enhanced benefit in those with diabetes. A study (CORONAVIT) on a large cohort in the UK aims to compare the effect of high dose versus low dose supplementation of vitamin D on the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as severe COVID-19 [38]. Further studies may provide the rationale for checking the serum levels of 25-OHD in those admitted for COVID-19, and for making corrections
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