Vitamin C Coronavirus Treatment

Doctors in New York hospitals are treating coronavirus patients with large doses of vitamin C. There are reports that a similar therapy helped patients in China. Patients receive vitamin C intravenously when they first enter intensive care at Northwell Health’s facilities. After that, they continue to receive the treatment three or four times per day. Clinicians administer 1,500 milligrams of vitamin C for each treatment. This is more than 16 times the National Institutes of Health’s daily recommended intake, 90 milligrams for men and 75 milligrams for women. (1, 2)

However, Peter McCaffery, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Aberdeen, told Newsweek that the body easily excretes vitamin C, so it’s not toxic like vitamins A and D, which are both fat-soluble. And as long as intravenous vitamin C is overseen clinically, it is usually safe. (2)

Dr. Andrew G. Weber is a pulmonologist and critical-care specialist working with two Northwell Health facilities on Long Island. According to him, this COVID-19 therapy stemmed from experimental treatments used in Shanghai, China. (1)

“The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not get vitamin C,” Weber told the New York Post. “It helps a tremendous amount, but it is not highlighted because it’s not a sexy drug.” (1)

COVID-19 Therapies

There are not yet any studies on the benefits of vitamin C for treating COVID-19. Researchers in Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus originated, began a clinical trial on February 14, 2020, at Zhongnan Hospital. The trial, which is expected to be finished at the end of September 2020, will involve 140 patients. Newsweek reports that researchers in the randomized, triple-blind study hope the results will show that intravenous vitamin C treatments improve the inflammatory impact that COVID-19 has on the lungs. (1, 2)

Because these treatments are experimental, clear regulations for them do not exist. Jason Molinet, a spokesperson for Northwell Health, said that the regimen is being used “as the clinician decides” for each patient. (1)

Other than intravenous vitamin C, COVID-19 patients in New York are also receiving a combination of the drugs hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, and azithromycin, an antibiotic. New York hospitals received permission to administer this experimental treatment to seriously ill coronavirus patients on March 24, 2020.

Vitamin C Myths

“I have to hope that [intravenous vitamin C treatments], or any new idea, may help,” McCaffery said to Newsweek. “Just to reiterate though, taking large doses of vitamin C tablets would be very unlikely to protect you from COVID-19—unless you were actually vitamin C deficient, which with a normal diet is quite rare.” (2)

There have been some online claims that the vitamin can prevent people from becoming infected with COVID-19 or developing symptoms of the virus. These claims, however, have been disproven. (2)

McCaffrey himself wrote a piece for The Conversation in response to these ideas. “Vitamin C is a common remedy that some people believe will cure the common cold and flu,” he wrote. “Although it helps us maintain good immune function, there’s little evidence that it can prevent or substantially reduce either of these diseases.” (3)

The professor goes on to explain the history behind the common belief that vitamin C can treat the common cold. The chemist Linus Pauling, who won the Nobel Prize, first shared this idea in the 1970s. The dietary supplements industry jumped on this claim and advertised it. But there isn’t any real evidence to back it up. (3)

It is true that sufficient levels of vitamin C help the immune system fend off viruses and bacteria. But too much can actually be harmful to the body and cause cramps, diarrhea, and nausea. Most people can get enough of the vitamin from dietary sources. So you’re probably better off just eating your fruits and vegetables, rather than taking a supplement. (3)

While these therapies may have some effect on the novel coronavirus, McCaffrey thinks clinicians will abandon them once other treatments are developed. “Even if intravenous vitamin C works to shorten or cure COVID-19,” he writes in his piece for The Conversation, “it will likely only be a stop-gap before therapies directed at the virus, such as vaccinations, take over. “ (3)

McCaffrey reminds his readers, “The most effective way to avoid the virus still remains washing hands, not touching the eyes, nose or mouth, and keeping your distance from anyone exhibiting symptoms.” (3)