Study: Vitamin C Effectiveness Against COVID-19 May Hinge on Natural Transporter Levels

A recent study has found that high doses of vitamin C for treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may benefit specific populations, although researchers say that key factors in efficacy include levels of a natural transporter needed to get the vitamin inside cells.

The factors of efficacy of vitamin C therapy may include age, race, gender, and expression levels, as well as genetic variations of vitamin C transporters that make them less efficient. The researchers recommend that those factors be considered in the design and execution of clinical trials and when the trial results are analyzed for COVID-19 and other conditions.

There are at least 30 clinical trials underway in which vitamin C, alone or in combination with other treatments, is being evaluated for COVID-19, some with doses up to 10 times the recommended 65 to 90 milligrams daily of vitamin C.