Since the apparition and the spread of the Covid-19 disease, governments and international organizations have taken or encouraged drastic measures to cut the chain of transmission and “flatten the curve", including lockdowns, shutdown or the prescription of hygienic measures and physical distancing.
But very soon in the development of the pandemic, it appeared that besides age and some health conditions (like immunocompromised state, asthma…) some risk factors were common to those affected by a severe Covid-19 infection (see references 1 and 2 below):
- that the risk for hospitalization was 3 times higher with hypertension
- that with diabetes the risk was 3-6 times higher
- that the risk was 6 times higher with cardiovascular disease
- that with obesity this risk was increased by 3 to 7 times according to the level of obesity
“It is clear that the presence of chronic diseases is major threat in case of contamination with Sars-Cov-2” said Valérie Dufour, Health Ministries Director at the Inter-European Division of Seventh-day Adventists. “And we've known since decades that those diseases are lifestyle related and can be dramatically improved through lifestyle changes.”
At the same time, studies about the role and the prevention potential of some vitamins and trace elements have been showing strong evidences.
In terms of risk factor as well as protection, Becky McCall, in Medscape, a medical journal online, wrote: “In Vitamin D deficiency on admission to hospital was associated with a 3.7-fold increase in the odds of dying from COVID-19, according to an observational study looking back at data from the first wave of the pandemic. Nearly 60% of patients with COVID-19 were vitamin D deficient upon hospitalization, with men in the advanced stages of COVID-19 pneumonia showing the greatest deficit.” (see reference 3 below).
So, why have there not been messages from the public authorities inform their populations about the importance of Vitamin D, zinc or other elements to help preventing severe forms of Covid-19? Or why has there not been public information on the modifiable risk factors for Covid-19?
“In light of the available scientific information, the prevention for Covid-19 should not only include hygienic measures but also and very importantly point to the significance of a healthy lifestyle together with adequate supplementation” concluded V. Dufour.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2)
3. Medscape
For more details on how to boost our immune system, see the Video “Sars-Cov-2 is not the only threat to our health!” Choose your language, if available.
