UKH

Is it me, or does the UEA graph demonstrate just about exactly the opposite:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8432321/Government-orders-review-v...

Surely that's pretty much a random distribution? 

It's a pretty weak correlation but it certainly doesn't show the opposite.  

What is more important is the death rate for those that have it, rather than the rate of catching it, which is a different graph.

It seems that if you catch it and are vitamin D deficient you are much more likely to die.  

Its certainly worth supplementing if you aren't pale skinned and pale skinned people should probably try to get outside and expose arms and face for 10 minutes a day. It's not a bad idea to get outside for mental health anyway, so why not.  

The headline graph has no error bars so scientifically speaking it doesn’t really show anything. Depending on their size it may or may not show a significant effect associated with vitamin D.

98.9% implies (if the decimal place isn't spurious) the sample size for deficient patients was a multiple of 91 so not tiny even if it was 1x91. It's a somewhat incredible seeming result unless vitamin d deficiency in Indonesia is a proxy for something else very serious or the research was cherry picked garbage. 

Jk

i paint my buttocks with goose fat and i havnt had covid....so it must work.

It certainly does not harm to anyone to take the correct level of vitamin D, so worth doing anyway (has many health benefits). Jury still seems to be out on whether it has a specific Covid benefit, but if we all get outside in this nice weather as much as possible, and those who can't or are dark skinned take suppliments, it won't be a bad thing

"sick and ill people more likely to die from stuff" doesn't make such a good DM headline

Be serious! Get the goose fat analysed for Vitamin D content then report back.

I do the same with some bad french duck fat. They call be Mal Lard Arse

(not bad for me considering I’ve got killer hay fever)

Yes, I am not aware of any health issues with taking extras vitamin D. As for the benefits, it is generally considered to be good for the immune system so makes sense that it may help you to fight off corvid19. 

Interestingly my mum was told to take it by her GP, the advise being that even during summer and with a pale skin most people struggle to get enough from sunlight exposure when living in the UK. 

Right on ! A couple of articles here with diverse reference to creating natural immunity - which has already well served a great majority of the population in this time of pandemic  

https://www.anhinternational.org/news/build-your-immune-resilience-as-natur...

https://www.anhinternational.org/news/immune-support-protocols-to-support-a...

That second 2020 reference suggests 100 microgram of vitamin D per day for adults whereas the NHS website says there may be harmful effects over 100 microgram (the latter is dated 2018, the 2020 reference uses more recent evidence).

I'm interested because I was advised to cover up, use high factor suncream, and take vit D supplements after removal of an insitu melanoma. I didn't ask but assumed the suncream lowered natural vitamin D production, though I now read there are recent claims that this effect is negligible. Presumably vegans must be especially careful to get enough sunlight (and vitamin C) or take supplements.

'Some ethnic groups tend to be at higher risk because their skin is less able to make the vitamin in response to sunlight. '

So essentially, what the definitely-not-racist dailymail is trying to do is say that the reason for higher proportion in deaths in the BAME community is down to actual skin differences? NOTHING to do with societal inequalities and systemic racism. Oh no, vitamin D plays a part and non-white people are dying at a higher rate due to no fault of the government but a physiological difference..

Thanks DailyMail! I feel much better knowing this explains the BAME community death rate and don't have to blame society anymore for creating inequalities 

Sunscreen does interfere with vitamin D production as I understand it, so the advice on 10 minutes a day is without suncream.  For most people without specific risk factors 10 minutes on the arms and face is thought to be safe.  

If you've been advised not to do that then supplements do seem like a good idea.   

You're slightly missing the point of my OP - their graph doesn't support their assertion - but don't you think it might be more constructive to wonder why BAME groups have suffered disproportionately?

As I understand it, even when factors like social deprivation have been accounted for there is still a poorer prognosis for BAME victims than for white. If we can understand the reason for this we can take action PDQ and reduce deaths. Or we could just rant on about generalities and let people die unnecessarily.  You're not Boris Johnson, by any chance?

Yes as per this study.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriage...