Study shows activated vitamin D may reduce Covid-19 fatalities: Report

A Spanish study claims that significant doses of calcifediol, the activated form of vitamin D, could help reduce the severity of Covid-19 and may cut fatalities significantly. 

The study was published in 'The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology' by researchers from the University of Córdoba in Spain and research university KU Leuven in Belgium. 

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The study hints that vitamin D supplements may have an advantage over vitamin D3, which is currently prescribed to most patients. 

For the study, 50 patients were given calcifediol with routine care, while 26 others were given routine care without the same. 

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Of all the patients who were given calcifediol, only one was required to be admitted to the ICU. However, half of the 26 people who received standard treatment required intensive care. 

“Our pilot study demonstrated that administration of a high dose of Calcifediol or, the main metabolite of vitamin D endocrine system, significantly reduced the need for ICU treatment of patients requiring hospitalisation due to proven Covid-19,” researchers wrote in the study. 

While Calcifediol may have reduced fatalities in this case, its effect on a larger group remains untested.