‘Life-saving’ sunshine vitamin for patients

COVID patients are being treated with vitamin D as part of groundbreaking treatment.

The initiative at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness – believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland – is inspired by results in Newcastle, which has one of the lowest coronavirus death rates in England.

Doctors there began giving people the so-called ‘sunshine vitamin’ during the first wave of the crisis.

Yesterday, Raigmore had 26 Covid patients. They receive a large dose on admission and this is topped up with smaller daily supplements alongside other treatments.

If successful, the scheme will be extended across NHS Highland.

Studies suggest vitamin D can play a key role in not only fighting off infections but also preventing the so-called ‘cytokine storm’, the devastating supercharged immune response which is the cause of death in at least half the victims of the pandemic.

The majority of Scots are D-deficient during the winter, which some experts believe is why viruses tend to be seasonal.

Endocrinologist Dr Richard Quinton – one of the medics behind the Newcastle initiative – praised the Raigmore treatment.

He said: ‘Last spring, we discussed the emergence of Covid-19 and how the virus works.

‘There was no vaccine on the horizon nor any other treatment nor any UK trial of vitamin D. But we could see an emerging pattern that hot, sunny places and those at the end of their summers were less affected by the pandemic.’

The UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition now states that a daily supplement ‘may provide some additional benefit in reducing the risk of acute respiratory tract infections’, a category of diseases that includes Covid. In Scotland, the government has handed those shielding from the virus a four-month supply of supplements.

An NHS Highland spokesman said: ‘The use of vitamin D in patients with Covid was discussed in detail prior to making this decision and we did have some communication with the Newcastle team.’