Former Alaska State House District 31 Rep. Paul Seaton will give a presentation to the Kenai Peninsula Borough during its Feb. 2 meeting about the relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19.
The presentation submitted in advance by Seaton, who served in the Alaska Legislature from 2003-2018, claims that increased vitamin D levels have been shown to lower COVID-19 infection rates and the severity of the disease.
Seaton, who is not a medical professional, said Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccines are needed and that he hopes people get them, but that in giving the presentation to the assembly, he hopes to provide the borough with another tool they can use to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic in light of the large portions of Alaskans who say they will not take the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to a statewide Dittman and Alaska Department of Health and Social Services poll of 406 adult Alaskan residents, only 35% said they would “definitely get” the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available. 29% said they would “probably get” the vaccine; 18% said they would “probably not” get it and 16% said they would “definitely not” get it.
When asked if presentations to the assembly are vetted in any way, Kenai Peninsula Borough Clerk Johni Blankenship said Wednesday that the guidelines are outlined in the borough’s code of ordinances. Borough code says that presentations can only be given on a subject not addressed in that meeting’s agenda and presentations must be less than 10 minutes with an aggregate 20 minutes per meeting given to presentations, but do not address a pre-screening of presentation content.
Seaton is not the first to present on COVID-19. Dr. Kristin Mitchell, who works at Central Peninsula Hospital, has given two presentations on COVID-19 and how the COVID vaccine works: one to the assembly and one to the Kenai City Council. As part of her presentation, Mitchell addressed misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine and debunked false claims about what the vaccine contains. After her presentation in Kenai, some members of the public called her testimony “criminal” and accused her of being an “indoctrination doctor.”
In an op-ed penned by Mitchell recently published by the Clarion, Mitchell reiterated her points about misinformation surrounding the vaccine and reflected on her experience treating HIV patients before, during and after effective treatments were developed.
“I expected this breakthrough to be the watershed infectious disease news of my lifetime,” Mitchell wrote. “I was wrong. The development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines that are 95% effective in preventing a disease that has killed more Americans than died in WWII eclipses that earlier triumph.”
Of Seaton’s planned presentation on vitamin D, Mitchell emphasized that the COVID vaccine and other COVID mitigation protocols such as wearing a face mask are the strongest way to combat the virus’ spread.
“I think if the implication is that all you need to do to avoid Covid is boost your [vitamin] D then I think that is tremendous harm,” Mitchell said. “The science is clear that vaccines and masking are demonstrated to reduce risk of illness and transmission (still waiting for confirmation on the vaccine reduces transmission, but that is widely expected to be the case based on what we know of measles vaccine effects). Anything that reduces that message is harmful in my opinion.”
An article from the Journal of American Medical Association shared with the Clarion by Kenai Peninsula Public Health Nurse Manager Leslie Felts on Wednesday says that findings about vitamin D’s relation to COVID-19 are mixed.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that vitamin D can impact how susceptible someone is to infection. Former president Donald Trump was also given vitamin D supplements after he contracted COVID-19 and received treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last October.
“Despite Fauci’s recommendation and claims by many supplement sellers, conclusions about vitamin D blood levels’ connection to a host of diseases, including infections, cannot be determined because of mixed or sparse evidence, according to a recent report written for the US Preventive Services Task Force, which is updating its recommendation on vitamin D deficiency screening,” the article, dated Jan. 6, 2021, says.
Another article from the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet shared by Felts reiterates the assertion that there is not great data to support vitamin D’s role in mitigating respiratory infections.
“Whereas data on the function of vitamin D in bone growth and maintenance is clear-cut and has informed practical clinical guidelines and public health policies over the years, evidence supporting the role of vitamin D in other health and disease processes, in particular in acute respiratory tract infection, remains patchy,” the article says. “Data from observational studies have suggested that vitamin D supplementation can lower the odds of developing respiratory infections, particularly in vitamin D-deficient groups, but randomised trials have yielded mixed results.”
The article goes on to say that some of the studies looking at the relationship between vitamin D and COVID-19 may be problematic due to conflicts of interest by studies’ sponsors and collaborators, some of whom include companies that stand to financially benefit from studies where vitamin D deficiency is shown to worsen someone’s COVID-19 outcomes.
For example, one study led by Dr. Carol Wagner at the Medical University of South Carolina has two collaborators who “have a vested interest” in the findings, including ZRT Laboratory and the Grassroots Health Nutrient Research Institute, which both sell vitamin D tests.
The presentation Seaton plans to give to the assembly contains five charts created by the Grassroots Health Nutrient Research Institute that contain data from other studies.
Both the Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are more than 90% effective in preventing someone from contracting COVID-19 and continue to be offered in Alaska on a limited basis.
More information on COVID-19 in Alaska can be found on the DHSS website. Information on the COVID-19 vaccine in Alaska can be found on the DHSS vaccine website at covidvax.alaska.gov. People eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine can schedule an appointment to be vaccinated at myhealth.alaska.gov.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
