Backlash as SNP refuse to give vitamins to vulnerable

FREE supplies of vitamin D to Covid-vulnerable Scots have been scrapped this winter despite research showing they help vaccines work better.

Those most vulnerable to the virus are starting to receive booster jabs from this week.

But the rollout comes as a study shows that low vitamin D status is linked to a poorer response to Covid inoculations.

The body produces fewer antibodies to tackle the virus if levels are below 50 nanomoles per litre of blood (nmol/L) – a threshold most Scots fail to reach during the winter.

Last autumn, ahead of the peak of the pandemic, those ‘shielding’ were offered four months’ supplements of the sunshine hormone. However, the top-ups – which

‘Short-sighted and disappointing’

were taken up by 71,000 people – have been dropped from this year’s plan to see Scotland through ‘virus season’.

Last night, critics accused the SNP of putting lives at risk in an attempt to save money.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: ‘During the winter months vitamin D is an important supplement for all, but in particular those in the Covid vulnerable groups who have had to shield or reduce their interactions during the pandemic.

‘Vitamin D deficiency is particularly common within members of the BAME community, and these supplements are crucial to supporting their immune systems.

‘This appears to be a shortsighted and disappointing decision by the SNP. It could put extremely vulnerable groups at unnecessary risk in the name of cutting costs.’

The Scottish Government’s plan to tackle Covid this winter hinges on providing vaccine boosters to those most vulnerable.

It is hoped that the jabs – the first of which are being administered this week – will succeed in keeping infections and severe cases at bay.

However, at the same time, the Scottish Daily Mail can reveal that ministers have scrapped the vitamin D supplements made available last year.

Researchers from Patras University in Greece – in a study now undergoing peer review – looked at the physiological responses of 712 people in the three months after they had had two doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.

They found that old age and smoking reduced antibody levels as did being male if over the age of 40. The fourth factor the researchers identified was low vitamin D. This fits in with studies that have discovered healthy levels of the sunshine hormone makes flu vaccines more effective.

Vitamin D is known to bolster the immune system. Scots are particularly prone to deficiency as the body’s stocks are mainly replenished by sunlight hitting the skin between March and September.

Our cloudy climate means it is harder for us to keep levels at which our immune response is maximised.

And those who spend more time indoors – such as those in care homes and with serious illness and disability – are more at risk.

They also are those who the Scottish Government made supplements available to last winter.

Recently retired Edinburgh GP Helga Rhein, of the campaign group Scots Need Vitamin D, said: ‘It is hard to understand why the Scottish Government is not learning important lessons.

‘The latest data suggests healthy vitamin D levels tend to help Covid vaccinations do their job so why give booster jabs to people who really need them but allow their vitamin D levels to drop? Last winter’s scheme was the bare minimum – and now even that’s been removed. It beggars belief.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘At-risk groups, including those with limited exposure to sunlight are recommended to take a supplement all year round.’