Zinc and ascorbic acid (vitamin C) supplementation have long been thought to have a possible role in fighting viral infection, based on theoretical grounds and some evidence for efficacy.

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In a recent study by researchers from the Cleveland Clinic they find ten days of high-dose zinc, ascorbic acid or a combination of the two has no significant impact on severity or duration of symptoms when taken early in the course of COVID-19.

That’s the conclusion of a randomized open-label trial, called COVID A to Z, that compared these interventions with usual care among more than 200 ambulatory patients with COVID-19. The study, which was stopped early for futility, was conducted by Cleveland Clinic researchers and published in JAMA Network Open.

“Based on this study, neither high-dose zinc nor ascorbic acid can be recommended to reduce symptoms of COVID-19 illness,” says the study’s senior author, Milind Desai, MD, Director of Operations in Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Cardiovascular Medicine.

Read more at Cleveland Clinic