The recommendations of the Oireachtas Health Committee report from April this year addressing Vitamin D deficiency as a public health measure in Ireland should be immediately implemented, according to local Independent Deputy, Denis Naughten.
Recommendations from the report noted that daily Vitamin D supplementation of 20-25µg/day should be recommended to the entire adult population as a public health measure; calls for a public health policy to promote better knowledge of the benefits of Vitamin D; calls for actions to reduce the cost of Vitamin D supplementation in order to promote its uptake and to consider offering Vitamin D at Covid test centres to raise awareness.
“Emerging results from observational studies conducted in Irish hospitals over the past 18 months, indicate that Vitamin D can reduce the severity of Covid-19.
“Vitamin D is already supplemented in some food stuffs to promote healthy bone growth and to combat bone disease. Vitamin D supplementation is considered to be extremely safe and to offer considerable health benefits but it’s possible potential benefits in relation to Covid-19 are only now beginning to be explored.
“Given its safety profile, its low cost and data which appears to support the case for supplementation particularly through winter months I believe the Government should immediately implement public health initiatives around supplementation,” Deputy Naughten asserted.
