A single-blind study of the potential of zinc supplementation to decrease the risk for contracting COVID-19 was conducted in two clinics in South Florida.
104 members from a center that regularly endorses zinc for COVID avoidance were combined with 96 members from a second facility who were not regularly recommended zinc.
Members were ages 50-84; prohibition measures included current disease or antibodies showing a past COVIDcontamination.
The study started on August 3, 2020, and finished on January 15, 2021.
Patients in the non-zinc bunch were matched for socioeconomics, presence of co-morbidities, and serum vitamin D level.
As a result of the socioeconomics of the local area included, 90% of the members were Hispanic. Although the participants knew whether or not they were taking zinc, those in the zinc group were randomly assigned to 10mg, 25mg, or 50mg of elemental zinc (as picolinate) daily and were blinded as to the dose they were taking.
Zinc supplementation resulted in significantly fewer COVID infections compared to the no-zinc group, even though the treatment group participants were an average of three years older and had 15-percent more participants who had COPD.
Two participants (1.92%) in the zinc group had symptomatic COVID infections compared to nine participants (10.42%) in the no-zinc group. The two in the zinc group had mild symptoms managed via out-patient telemedicine consult. In addition, antibody tests at the study’s end showed none of the other participants in the zinc group had had asymptomatic COVID.
Of the nine COVID cases in the no-zinc group, three required hospitalization for severe hypoxia and one of them died. There were no significant differences in zinc dosing, with no cases in the 10-mg daily group and one each in the 25- and 50-mg daily groups.
This study adds to the growing body of evidence for using zinc as a prophylactic in COVID-19.
