As we approach one year in quarantine, doctors and researchers made several discoveries in efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Social distancing, good hygiene, and wearing masks are necessities around the world. But is there another way to fight the virus?
Over the last year, scientists and doctors studied the virus to create a vaccine. A working vaccine will help stop the spread of this deadly virus and save the lives of those most vulnerable (people whose immune system has grown weaker and cannot fight against the virus). In a recent study, researchers found benefits of vitamin D to help fight Covid-19. In fact, 120 doctors, researchers, and leading authorities have signed an open letter calling for an increase in the use of vitamin D to fight against Covid.
Why would vitamin D help?
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can cause illnesses such as the common cold, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and Middle East respiratory syndrome. The current Covid-19 virus is what doctors call the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Lack of vitamin D leaves someone vulnerable to developing an acute upper respiratory infection or the more severe Covid-19. An analysis in 2012 for another type of coronavirus found that people who took vitamin D supplements, particularly those who had low levels of vitamin D, were less likely to develop acute respiratory tract infections than those who didn’t.
According to an article from Harvard’s medical school, vitamin D helps protect against Covid-19 in two ways. “First, it may help boost our bodies’ natural defense against viruses and bacteria. Second, it may help prevent an exaggerated inflammatory response, which has been shown to contribute to severe illness in some people with COVID-19,”
Professor of medicine at Tufts University, Clifford Rosen, said in an interview, “People have been collecting information about vitamin D levels that suggests that individuals with lower concentrations of vitamin D in their blood may be at greater risk both of entering the hospital with COVID and possibly being sicker.”
The new information arisen from this study is a ray of hope that might stop Covid-19 from spreading.
Hi! My name is Alexis Taylor, and I’m a staff writer for The Mycenaean. I am also a volunteer video editor for my church. I love older music, TV shows, and movies!
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