Vitamin D status during the COVID-19 pandemic: a pragmatic approach to measurement and supplementation

Overall, previous evidence that public health policies based on 25OH-D supplementation (including food fortification) have uncertain effects on reducing the risk of adverse outcomes of acute or chronic diseases in the general population. It seems more appropriate to assert that the beneficial effects of 25OH-D supplementation may be limited to individuals with overt deficiency (e.g., <20 ng/mL), who could benefit most from correcting their deficit. In summary, a pragmatic approach might be to routinely determine 25OH-D status in the most vulnerable and susceptible groups of the general population (i.e., patients with advanced age, multiple comorbidities, immunosuppression) who are at higher risk for developing adverse outcomes of COVID-19 and other severe of life-threatening pathologies, and to reserve vitamin D supplementation to those who are clearly deficient.