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.
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
- Tajikistan reports polio case in Khatlon province
- Ebola outbreak: 3rd confirmed case reported in a week
- New Mexico reports 1st plague case of year in Los Alamos County cat
- Scent detection dogs can identify individuals infected with COVID-19
- Kenya Rift Valley fever outbreak update
- DRC declares 12th Ebola outbreak
- Manukaguard Allercleanse nasal spray recalled due to yeast contamination
