page_title: COVID-19 drug repurposing research
section_title: Oral vitamin D
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 drug repurposing research / Studies / Vitamins / Oral vitamin D
caption_attribution_description: English: Vitamin D2 supplements (800 IU)
context_page_description: Drug repositioning is the re-purposing of an approved drug for the treatment of a different disease or medical condition than that for which it was originally developed. This is one line of scientific research which is being pursued to develop safe and effective COVID-19 treatments. Other research directions include the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and convalescent plasma transfusion.
  Several existing antiviral medications, previously developed or used as treatments for severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome, HIV/AIDS, and malaria, have been researched as COVID‑19 treatments, with some moving into clinical trials.
  In a statement to the journal Nature Biotechnology in February 2020, US National Institutes of Health Viral Ecology Unit chief Vincent Munster said, "The general genomic layout and the general replication kinetics and the biology of the MERS, SARS and [SARS-CoV-2] viruses are very similar, so testing drugs which target relatively generic parts of these coronaviruses is a logical step".
context_section_description: According to ClinicalTrials.gov, several Phase II–IV clinical trials are underway to assess the use of oral vitamin D for prevention or treatment of COVID‑19 infection, with most in preliminary stages and none completed, as of May 2020. Most trials have focused on studying infected people who are vitamin D deficient. The rationale for these trials is based on speculation and observational reports that low vitamin D may be associated with a higher incidence and severity of this infection. After adjustments were made for potential confounding factors, such as ethnicity, one study found insufficient evidence to indicate that vitamin D supplementation provided a benefit to reduce susceptibility to COVID‑19 infection.
caption: Oral vitamin D tablets
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