that, Vit D is ‘better,’ claim is what got him in hot water.
If the below is accurate, Vit D deficiency is not an ethnic white problem, comprising only 6% of the ‘severely deficient’ group, and, of those ‘deficient’, in the group with a bmi over 30. Which brings in to play the whole lifestyle, morbidities and nutritional history effect on succeptibility to infection of any kind. And making Vit D by itself not much more than a bit player in their disease processes, because “The median vitamin D levels of the COVID-19 seropositive and seronegative groups were not significantly different”
“54.9% of the participants were positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein antibodies. The median vitamin D levels of the COVID-19 seropositive and seronegative groups were not significantly different... In the severely deficient category, the proportion of individuals who are ≥ 50 years of age are less than those in the < 50 years of age. Individuals who are < 50 years of age are more likely to be in the vitamin D deficient category than in the sufficient category.
“A significantly more significant proportion of individuals in the BAME group (40%) constituted the severely deficient vitamin D category when compared to the white ethnic group (6.6%). The individuals in the BAME subgroup are more likely to belong to the severe vitamin D deficient category than the deficient category.”
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20211017/Does-vitamin-D-deficiency-increase-the-risk-of-SARS-CoV-2-infections.aspx
Limitations of the study
The study had numerous limitations. First, multiple ethnicities were aggregated into the single BAME group, so further subcategorization of ethnicities was not investigated.
There may be a possibility of seasonal variation in vitamin D levels though participants were all recruited in May to reduce the effect of seasonal variation. In addition, the disease severity was not considered, which may affect the interpretation of results.
My belief is that most people are unaware of their vitamin D levels, and that there are factors affecting their actual vitamin D absorption.
And no, supplements are not a magic bullet for topping off one's D levels.