The causal role of vitamin D deficiency in worse Covid-19 outcomes: implications for policy and practice development

Covid-19 continues to contribute to excess morbidity and mortality in Ireland. The associated hospitalisation and ICU admissions impose an unsustainable burden on the Irish public health system. In the last twenty-eight days alone, there have been a further 176 Covid-19 related deaths, with total mortality now standing in excess of 8,515 case fatalities1 . Since early in the pandemic, emerging evidence has supported a role for insufficient vitamin D status as a contributor to both SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity of Covid-19 outcomes2-5.