Vitamin D boosts

SIR – We know that Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups, as well as those who mainly work indoors, especially shift workers, are Vitamin D-deficient during the British winter – which is why Public Health England already recommends daily Vitamin D doses for “most of the population”.

There is now strong observational evidence from many countries and cultures that the groups vulnerable to Covid-19 are often Vitamin D-deficient, and that low Vitamin D is strongly linked to increased severity and poor outcome of respiratory infections generally, and Covid-19 in particular.

The recent pronouncement by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence that there is no conclusive evidence of Vitamin D’s role in Covid-19 is technically correct, in that there are no randomised controlled trials that directly address the question, but is otherwise a perfect example of what Martin Luther King described as “conscientious stupidity”.

In the absence of a vaccine, the most cheap and effective step that PHE and the Government could take to reduce Covid-19 attrition this winter would be to ensure optimal Vitamin D status for all NHS and care-home staff, the BAME population, the elderly and care-home residents, and those who work indoors. Employers may reasonably be expected to address the needs of the last cohort. Planning is needed now to avoid the logistical problems which we saw this spring.

Dr Jon Broome Durham