A Challenge to Fox’s Medical Expert Dr. Marc Siegel

Last Friday evening, Fox’s Tucker Carlson Show invited his favorite physician, Dr. Marc Siegel from New York University’s medical school, on his program. Dr. Siegel is a regular contributor on the COVID19 pandemic for Fox. He made an emphatic statement that Vitamin C plays no role in the prevention and treatment of coronavirus despite evidence to the contrary. Instead he emphasized the need for new medications and a vaccine.

It is expected that a COVID19 vaccine will be fast tracked through the FDA so it becomes available more rapidly. CNBC News has already reported that White House advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and other US health officials are collaborating with the drug company Moderna to fast track its COVID19 vaccine that is now in development. In order to expedite medical interventions that are determined to be critical, the FDA permits fast tracking, which lightens the otherwise rigorous clinical trial process and lessens the requirement of long-term assessment to properly evaluate a drug’s or vaccine’s efficacy and safety.According to DrugWatch, many fast tracked drugs have resulted in black box warnings, an FDA flagging of a product as carrying serious adverse risks after its approval and licensure.

Therefore, we want to challenge Tucker’s guest Dr. Siegel. Either they are both uninformed about the peer-review medical literature in the National Library of Medicine and the countless positive patient results from physicians using complementary medicine and Vitamin C therapy for over 5 decades to treat infectious illnesses, including HIV and respiratory infections or they are in denial.

This may be intentional neglect – making a concerted choice to refuse to acknowledge something in order to avoid contradicting personally held beliefs.
We hope that Tucker and Siegel will be open to interview doctors and patients who have defeated viral infections by non-drug regimens and without vaccination. There are over 2,600 studies listed in the National Institutes of Health PubMed database specifically addressing Vitamin C therapy and supplementation to prevent and treat infectious diseases; most of these concern respiratory infections.

Below are some of the more important studies, especially regarding the importance of Vitamin C for strengthening the innate and adaptive immune systems. Both of these immune systems are essential for protecting ourselves from COVID19, whereas a vaccine will only act on a single immune system that triggers antibody production.

Current Clinical Trial Underway and listed in the US National Library of Medicine’s database of Clinical Trials: Vitamin C Infusion for the Treatment of Severe 2019-nCoV Infected Pneumonia
A new clinical trial to test high-dose vitamin C in patients with COVID-19 (University of Otago, New Zealand)
Critical Care, April 2020
Efficacy of Mega dose Vitamin C against Covid19

Vitamin C and SARS coronavirus (University of Helsinki)
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, December 2203
The possibility that vitamin C affects severe viral respiratory tract infections would seem to warrant further study, especially in light of the recent SARS epidemic.

Vitamin C and Infections (University of Helskinki)
Nutrients, April 2017
• Reviewed 148 studies on vitamin C deficiency associated with diverse viral and bacteria infections and pneumonia.
• Found that in active people, shortened duration of colds effectively

The effectiveness of vitamin C in preventing and relieving the symptoms of virus-induced respiratory infections
Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapy, October 1999
Megadose Vitamin C before and after flu infections and colds improved symptoms compared to placebo group

The clinical effects of vitamin C supplementation in elderly hospitalised patients with acute respiratory infections (Huddersfield University)
International Journal Vitamin Research, 1994
A randomised double-blind trial showing the effectiveness of vitamin C/placebo supplementation conducted on 57 elderly patients admitted to hospital with acute respiratory infections (bronchitis and bronchopneumonia).

Vitamin C Is an Essential Factor on the Anti-viral Immune Responses through the Production of Interferon-α/β at the Initial Stage of Influenza A Virus (H3N2) Infection (Seoul National University College of Medicine
Immunology Network, April 2013
Vitamin C is an essential factor for anti-viral immune responses at the early stage of Influenza A infection.

Vitamin C Is an Essential Factor on the Anti-viral Immune Responses through the Production of Interferon-α/β at the Initial Stage of Influenza A Virus (H3N2) Infection (Seoul University College of Medicine)
Immunology Network, April 2013
the infiltration of inflammatory cells into the lung and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-α/β, were increased in the lung. Taken together, vitamin C shows in vivo anti-viral immune responses at the early time of infection, especially against influenza virus, through increased production of IFN-α/β

Extra Dose of Vitamin C Based on a Daily Supplementation Shortens the Common Cold: A Meta-Analysis of 9 Randomized Controlled Trials (Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine)
Biomedical Research, 2018
The combination of supplemental and therapeutic doses of vitamin C is capable of relieving chest pain, fever, and chills, as well as shortening the time of confinement indoors and mean duration.

A New Mechanism of Vitamin C Effects on A/FM/1/47(H1N1) Virus-Induced Pneumonia in Restraint-Stressed Mice (Pharmacy College, Jinan University, Guangzhou)
Biomedical Research, February 2015
Vitamin C administration significantly decreased expression of susceptibility genes, including mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS) and interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), and increased expression of NF-κB. These findings provide a new mechanism for the effects of vitamin C on influenza virus-induced pneumonia in restraint-stressed mice.

Vitamin C and Immune Function (University of Otago, New Zealand)
Nutrients, November 2017
• Vitamin C supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes the oxidant scavenging activity of the skin, thereby potentially protecting against environmental oxidative stress.
Overall, vitamin C appears to exert a multitude of beneficial effects on cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system.
• Vitamin C appears to be able to both prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections by enhancing various immune cell functions. Prophylactic prevention of infection requires dietary vitamin C intakes that provide at least adequate, if not saturating plasma levels (i.e., 100–200 mg/day), which optimize cell and tissue levels.

Immunomodulatory and Antimicrobial Effects of Vitamin C (University Medicine Berlin)
European Journal of Microbiological Immunology, August 2019
For a few vertebrate species including humans having lost their capacities to synthesize vitamin C themselves during evolution, the uptake of this essential compound from external sources is mandatory in order to prevent from vitamin deficient conditions resulting in severe morbidities
vitamin C is able to inhibit the growth of S. aureus and streptococci even under neutral pH conditions.

Articles Sited by Cochrane Database as reliable for Vitamin C Efficacy

Anderson TW, Suranyi G, Beaton GH. The effect on winter illness of large doses of vitamin C. Canadian Medical Association Journal 1974;111(1):31‐6.

Chalmers TC. Effects of ascorbic acid on the common cold. An evaluation of the evidence. American Journal of Medicine1975; Vol. 58, issue 4:532‐6.

Dykes MH, Meier P. Ascorbic acid and the common cold. Evaluation of its efficacy and toxicity. JAMA1975; Vol. 231, issue 10:1073‐9.

Hemilä H, Chalker E. Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 1. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000980.pub4]

Karlowski TR, Chalmers TC, Frenkel LD, Kapikian AZ, Lewis TL, Lynch JM. Ascorbic acid for the common cold. A prophylactic and therapeutic trial. JAMA1975; Vol. 231, issue 10:1038‐42.

Raposo SE, Fondell E, Ström P, Bälter O, Bonn SE, Nyrén O, et al. Intake of vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, zinc and polyunsaturated fatty acids and upper respiratory tract infection ‐ a prospective cohort study. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2017;71:450‐7. [DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2016.261]

Vorilhon P, Arpajou B, Vaillant Roussel H, Merlin E, Pereira B, Cabaillot A. Efficacy of vitamin C for the prevention and treatment of upper respiratory tract infection. A meta‐analysis in children. European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 2018 Nov 21 [Epub ahead of print]. [DOI: 10.1007/s00228‐018‐2601‐7]

Webb AL, Villamor E. Update: effects of antioxidant and non‐antioxidant vitamin supplementation on immune function. Nutrition Reviews2007; Vol. 65, issue 5:181‐217.

Witek TJ, Ramsey DL, Carr AN, Riker DK. The natural history of community‐acquired common colds symptoms assessed over 4 years. Rhinology 2015;53(1):81‐8.

Yakoot M, Salem A. Efficacy and safety of a multiherbal formula with vitamin C and zinc (Immumax) in the management of the common cold. International Journal of General Medicine2011; Vol. 4:45‐51.