SHR # 2782:: New Study: Further Evidence Vitamin D3 Protects Against COVID-19 and Death - Prof. Lina Zgaga, Ph.D. FTCD - New research from Trinity College Dublin and University of Edinburgh has examined the association between vitamin D and COVID-19, and found that ambient ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation (which is key for vitamin D production in the skin) at an individual’s place of residence in the weeks before COVID-19 infection, was strongly protective against severe disease and death. The paper has been published in the journal Scientific Reports today (Wednesday, 15th September 2021). Previous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with an increased susceptibility to viral and bacterial respiratory infections. Similarly, several observational studies found a strong correlation between vitamin D deficiency and COVID-19, but it could be that these effects are confounded and in fact a result of other factors, such as obesity, older age or chronic illness which are also linked with low vitamin D.