vitamin D times today1 Oct 2020 21:30
Ministers are to reconsider vitamin D as a potential weapon against Covid-19 after Matt Han**** wrongly claimed that government scientists had run unsuccessful tests.
The health secretary told the Commons last week that he had ordered a trial that showed vitamin D did not “appear to have any impact”. Officials now admit that no trials took place.
New evidence from Spain suggests that vitamin D, which some scientists believe helps to prevent a fatal overreaction to the virus, could save lives.
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Mr Han**** has now agreed to meet MPs, including David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, and Rupa Huq, a Labour backbencher, to hear the growing case for the vitamin, which people synthesise through exposure to the sun.
Experts say that time is running out for ministers to act as levels drop significantly in autumn and winter. Charles Bangham, chairman in immunology at Imperial College London, said: “Public Health England already recommends that everybody take a daily vitamin D supplement but the message is not getting through to a large section of the population.
“As we move into autumn and winter, vitamin D levels will fall and more of the population will become deficient. On that basis, whatever is to be done must be done swiftly. We have nothing to lose but much to gain by eradicating deficiency.”
The recent study by Cordoba University in Spain found that of 50 patients with Covid-19 who were given vitamin D at a hospital in the city, only one needed intensive care and none died. Half of 26 virus sufferers who did not take vitamin D were later admitted to intensive care and two died.
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In June Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, chief midwifery officer at NHS England, sent a memo to all maternity units warning that “women low in vitamin D may be more vulnerable to coronavirus”.
Anthony Fauci, the leading expert on infectious disease in the US, has said that he takes vitamin D to cut the odds of becoming ill.
Mr Han**** told MPs last week in reply to a question from Dr Huq: “Vitamin D is one of the many things that we have looked into, to see whether it reduces the incidence or impact of coronavirus. The results were that it does not appear to have any impact.”
Dr Huq, in a point of order on Monday this week, said: “[Mr Han****] said that he had conducted a trial and there was no effect. It turns out that there was no trial. Apparently it was a National Institute for Health and Care Excellence review of secondary evidence on July 1. The word ‘trial’ implies fresh evidence, not reheated leftovers.”
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