In this letter to the Editor, the authors argue that Vitamin C has been shown to decrease the severity of at least one coronavirus infection, the common cold. Thus, it is possible, even likely that vitamin C would also have a positive effect against infections by other coronaviruses, including Sars-CoV-2 infections leading to COVID-19. In addition, since Vitamin C has been shown to improve outcomes in patients admitted to the ICU, there may be additional benefits.
Comment: at this point in time, it appears that SARS-CoV-2 is highly infectious, and that large segments of the population will get infected regardless of social distancing policies or mask policies. While social distancing and masking slows down transmission, right now it seems that these measures will not stop the spread of the virus. Since there are no known good treatments for COVID-19 right now a great strategy is to build up your immune system, now.
Building up the immune system is simultaneously complex and simple. The biochemical reactions underlying the immune system are complex, but for you and I, the way to build up our immune systems as simple as diet and exercise. Eat right. Exercise regularly. And possibly, take Vitamin C.
Too much emphasis has been placed on social distancing, which is a controversial policy that may or may not turn out to be the best policy in fighting the global pandemic of COVID-19. While most countries have followed strict social distancing policies, others have not. Most notably, Sweden has not been as stringent as other European countries, yet their disease rate is about average.
Vitamin C as a Possible Therapy for COVID-19.:
Infect Chemother. 2020 May 15;
Authors: Hemilä H, Chalker E
PMID: 32410417