Vitamin D and COVID-19: What Parents Need to Know

Yes, we are still in the midst of a Pandemic. And for as many months that we have harrowed though the uncertainty, there is A LOT we still don’t know about SARS-CoV2 and COVID-19. That’s why the decision to re-open businesses, decide on school plans, or choose to have a play date is so maddening; we are all trying to make safer decisions based on a relatively small amount of data. 

Of course, international scientists are working relentlessly on key answers. These early research studies are being released in rapid-fire succession so that doctors and researchers can look for patterns. If we see the same pattern over and over again, then we can refine our questions and our study design to see if the patterns are real or just a coincidence. Then we do studies all over again, gaining new results. Over time, we expect recommendations to change. 

That is science-ing. 

One pattern that researchers are finding is that individuals with higher vitamin D levels seem to have less severe COVID-19 disease. To be clear, vitamin D does NOT prevent you from catching the virus, rather it may have a role in the body’s ability to more effectively fight the infection. This circumstantial evidence is large enough that European medical societies are recommending vitamin D supplementation to its citizens. 

Researchers are speculating reasons why this pattern is emerging. We do know that vitamin D (more a hormone than a micronutrient) helps with our innate and adaptive immunity and has shown to be helpful in preventing severe illness in other respiratory illnesses. To support vitamin D’s help with COVID-19, some researchers suspect that vitamin D supports the growth of natural antimicrobial fighters in the respiratory tract. Others imagine it is vitamin D’s role in diffusing inflammation that makes it beneficial, specifically vitamin D’s known interaction with ACE2 and its relation to pulmonary surfactant. Finally, it’s possible that vitamin D helps to suppress the inflammation that contributes to COVID-19’s severity.

Regardless of the possible protective mechanism, we already know that vitamin D does important things in our body - bone health, immune function, mental wellness to name a few - and is recommended by the AAP as early as infancy. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. The photoreaction required to convert sunlight to vitamin D, however, is blocked by sunscreen use, decreased in BIPOC, and lower at certain latitudes. In addition, natural availability of vitamin D in whole foods is limited (salmon, tuna, beef liver, and egg yolks). As a result, most of us get vitamin D from fortified foods (dairy products, some juices, cereal, baby formula) or dietary supplements.

Remember that vitamin D is fat-soluble. That means that too much can be a bad thing. Super-supplementing is not good for you. Recommended doses of vitamin D can be found here for children and here for adults. Supplement recommendations are trickier in Black Americans, but info can be found here and here. 

Bottom line: Vitamin D is important for many body functions and may help protect against severe COVID-19 disease. With proper dosage, there is very little downside* and possible benefit. Choose whole food sources first. As an alternative, supplements are inexpensive and easy to find.  

*Of course, talk with your personal physician before taking any supplements or vitamins.