Lawrence Mallette, MD, PhD (Texas) on 05/28/2020

I developed chest aches, body aches, low grade fever, cough, sore throat a few days after attending a large music festival in March. I increased my vitamin C from my usual 1000 mg a day to 7000 mg every 8 hours (backing off to 6000 mg three times a day when loose stools developed). I increased my vitamin D from the usual 2000 IU daily to 5000 IU twice a day. I used zinc-elderberry gummies several times a day. My symptoms largely cleared in 4 days, and completely in abut a week. 

Did I have Covid-19? I didn't qualify for PCR testing. I am awaiting development of an antibody test with a low false positive rate to confirm, but I'm pretty sure I did. 

Main messages: 

1. Short term oral use of 20 gm of vitamin C a day is harmless, and even if it fails ever to be proven effective in randomized prospective tests, it should still be used in such a dire situation as has been caused by this pandemic. There is nothing to loose. In fact the academic docs don't have the guts to set up a study with such a dose of vitamin C. It would be called dangerous by the various review boards who have to approve studies, because of their ignorance, so it simply will never be part of “evidence based medicine,” as currently defined.

2. There are at least 3 studies now that look at the vitamin D metabolite (25OHD) level at presentation with Covid-19 (all patients confirmed diagnosis). Those with an adequate level (over 30 ng/mL) were over 90% certain to have mild disease. Those below 20 ng/mL generally required ICU admission or intubation. There are two possible explanations: A. Vitamin D is protective, or B. Having moderate or severe Covid-19 quickly lowers the blood level of 25OHD (for which we have no data at the moment). 

See Robert Heaney's YouTube lecture on optimal vitamin D dosing:

• Toxicity with vitamin D requires doses of 20,000 IU daily or more.
• A dose of 10,000 IU will give you the level that life guards carry around at the end of a summer of patrolling the beach. 

When you encounter the virus, it is important already to have adequate D nutrition, so that the immune system is ready to go.

Replied By Mary (USA) on 05/29/2020

Dr. Mallette. Hormone d please look up ingredients in D CON mouse bait.

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Replied By Paracelsus (Orlando, Fl) on 07/07/2020

Thanks for sharing this is awesome! Wish all MDs were like you! I think liposomal vitc is even more effective.

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Replied By Candice (California) on 07/09/2020

Thank you Dr., I'm not sure if I had covid as I wasn't able to be tested either but I took 5,000 mg of vitamin C and seen a difference by the second day of becoming ill. I appreciate you!

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Replied By Victor (Agoura Hills, CA) on 10/20/2020

Do you mind sharing legitimate brands of Vitamin C / vitamin D Supplements?

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Replied By Ryan M. (TX) on 11/14/2021

Dr. Mallette,

I appreciate your thorough breakdown and explanation of this subject (and your dapper last name; my great uncle spells his with an 'e' on the end too). I'm generally very skeptical about everything, and most comments I've read on this site are loosely (if it all) correlated anecdotes; repeating info from the same 3rd party, mentioning treatments that don't make sense or don't have an easily explainable link to their illness/treatment, etc.

My symptoms began this past Thursday, lost senses of smell and taste Friday, and finally went to the ER this morning (Sunday). They did an antibody test, the 1~ hour result test, and it came back negative. But the RN suggested I still treat it as if I'm positive, because I have ALL the symptoms, particularly the sudden loss of smell/taste. They prescribed prednisone, albuterol, and amoxicillin. The latter because I'm also developing an ear infection, likely from excess drainage, according to the doctor.

In your medical opinion, would it be safe to take high dosages of Vitamin C, D, and zinc, in conjunction with those prescriptions?

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