Vitamin D and viral immunity

According to recent publications in the BMJ, anything up to 80% of us are resistant to COVID-19 with prior immunity. There is also increasing evidence explaining the protective role of natural vitamin D. It would therefore appear that there are some evidence-based methods that would be highly effective at preventing medical services from getting over-run. Appropriate forms of prevention has always been better than cure, and an understanding of the two basic arms of the immune system (antibodies and cell mediation) should be understood. 

For some types of infection, the cell mediated response and interaction with vitamin D may be far more important and effective in fighting infection than the raising of antibodies. This would seem to be the case with coronaviruses. 

The connection between T-cells and vitamin D

Eshani King a researcher from the British Society of Immunology, writing for the BMJ describes how antibodies can only help to destroy those pathogens that are outside our cells, and may in fact sometimes have the opposite of the desired response by actually enhancing a pathogen’s ability to infect the cell (a process known as antibody dependent ”enhancement” or ADE). It is only a type of white blood cell known as T-cells, that can detect and destroy pathogens once they are inside infected cells.

Measuring antibody response is not a good marker of vaccine effectiveness

The importance of T-cells in fighting SARS-CoV-1 and establishing immune memory has been well documented. It appears that the effectiveness of our ability to combat COVID-19 is more dependent on the role of T-cells than any antibody response. However, one of the primary markers for measuring the effectiveness of a vaccine is to measure the subsequent level of antibodies, and so this marker could be largely unrepresentative of actual immune status and our ability to respond effectively to disease.

Some patients who do not even raise any antibodies, a condition known as agammaglobulinemia can overcome COVID-19 infections without requiring ventilation. “This observation suggests that T‐cell response is probably important for immune protection against the virus, while B‐cell response might be unessential”. B-cells are the white blood cells that produce antibodies.

So, do the mRNA vaccines actually provoke any T-cell response?

The BMJ state, "All this should have shifted the focus of efforts towards T-cells at an early stage - the real question is why mainstream media and others continued to focus efforts and narrative on antibodies. Is it because vaccines are good at provoking antibody responses, but not so great at generating T-cells?" It would seem that the T-cell response is not impressive. The BMJ say, "Some of the vaccines presently under trial do elicit some T-cells, but it seems that neither the quantity nor variety are hugely impressive". 

Research establishments including Yale have found that the severely ill patients produced few T-cells with less variety, but had plenty of antibodies. What is also of interest is that men produced fewer T-cells than women, and unlike women, their T-cell response reduced with age.

T-cells need vitamin D

So, why do some people have a good T-cell response and some don't? It would appear that when a T-cell is exposed to a pathogen such as a virus, it extends a signalling device or 'antenna' known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D.

Vitamin D activates T-cells

If there is an inadequate level of vitamin D level, the cells do not go into action. Adequate vitamin D is therefore critically important for the activation of T-cells from their inactive or 'naïve' state. 

High levels of vitamin D are also critical for first line immune defences including physical mucosal defences, human antiviral production, modulating cytokines, reducing blood clotting and a whole host of other important immune system functions. As a consequence obese people, diabetics and people of BAME origin are far more deficient in vitamin D and men have lower levels than women. 

Another clue suggesting the importance of vitamin D is the low death rate in Japan.  Japan has the highest proportion of elderly in the world, but despite lack of lockdowns, little mask wearing and high population densities in cities, it escaped with few COVID deaths. The Japanese also have extraordinarily high vitamin D levels of over 30 ng/ml in 95% of the active elderly. By comparison, UK average levels are below 20ng/ml. Vitamin D is made in the skin from the action of UV sunlight, food usually being a poor source, but the Japanese diet includes unusually high levels. It is also worth noting that sunny countries near the equator (e.g. Nigeria, Singapore, Sri Lanka) also have very low COVID related deaths. 

The importance of vitamin D is becoming increasingly established. 

A study by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has discovered that countries with low vitamin D levels were also the countries with the highest mortality and COVID-19 infection rates.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, we have known for some time that Vitamin D reduces acute respiratory infections and more evidence that it is helpful in fighting off illness  is mounting.

A ten-week trial from the University of Granada is also underway after a recent study from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College, Dublin found that adults taking vitamin D supplements slashed the risk of having at least one acute respiratory infection from 60 per cent to 32 per cent.

Vitamin D eliminates need for intensive care

The results of the first vitamin D intervention double blind clinical trials for COVID was published by researchers in Spain. This study produced spectacular outcomes for the vitamin D group, virtually eliminating the need for ICU (reducing it by 96%) and eliminating deaths (8% in the n=26 control group). Although this was a small trial, the ICU results are so dramatic that they are statistically highly significant. 

The BMJ article goes onto suggest the levels of vitamin D that are required:

Substantially more vitamin D is required for optimal immune function than for bone health. It seems Dr Fauci is not ignorant of this, having apparently confirmed on TV and by email that he takes 6,000 IU daily! (see Dr John Campbell on YouTube Vitamin D and pandemic science, 16 September 2020). Meanwhile the US’s health body continues to recommend only 600-800 IU and the UK’s, only 400 IU. 

It is high time for joined up solid scientific rationale to overthrow mainstream narratives based on an alternative “science” controlled by industry interests/politics. Beda M Stadler, the former Director of the Institute for Immunology at the University of Bern, a biologist and Professor Emeritus, certainly appears to think so (see Ivor Cummins Ep91 Emeritus Professor of Immunology...Reveals Crucial Viral Immunity Reality on YouTube, 28 July 2020).

Natural immunity is best

I do not know of any vaccine that is better than if you have had the disease

In the same way that prior infections protect us against future infections by means of cross-reacting T-cells, overcoming COVID-19 naturally offers potential for greater protection against future coronaviruses. Vaccines have their place but so do our amazingly complex, sophisticated, highly effective immune systems which have evolved over millennia to protect us from a world teeming with trillions of pathogens.

Preventing the NHS from getting over-run

It would therefore appear that there are some evidence-based methods that would actually be far more effective at preventing medical services from being over-run, than by mass vaccination. These now seem to include; telemedicine, ivermectin, preventing original antigenic sin and now also vitamin D.