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Comment by ourcat | Hacker News Reader

I've had the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and had no side-effects at all. I did actually expect to, since I used to always react badly as a child to the flu vaccine we had at school.

Also, I've heard of friends and colleagues who felt pretty rough for a couple of days.

But one thing I don't hear enough of, is the comparison with all the long lists of potential side-effects stated on normal, over-the-counter medicines. Paracetamol, Aspirin etc.

Have you listened to the fast-talking voices at the end of medicine adverts, disclaiming a litany of possible side-effects? It's quite amazing. (Some disclaimers at the end of pharmaceutical ads on US TV particularly, have always shocked me.)

"Take this. It'll help your problem" (* warning: may cause ... )

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This is reportedly a side-effect of FDA guidelines and how drug studies are conducted. FDA guidelines asked drug companies to list "all possible side effects", which meant that if a single study participant had a bad meal while taking the experimental drug, and suffered diarrhea as a result of the bad meal, then diarrhea became a possible side effect of taking the drug.

The FDA adjusted their guidelines in 2015 in response to this (https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-confusing-drug-ad...).

Vitamin D levels have been shown to be negatively correlated with the really bad effects of the Covid-19 disease. In one study, there was a stark difference between those who had less than 20 ng/mL serum levels, and those who had more. There are many studies which corroborate this, generally.

There was another study that showed that taking 5000 IU or 10000 IU would result in levels well below 210 ng/ml in average people, which is around the level where we'd expect side effects. This is not medical advice. I am not a doctor, just a random guy on the Internet. However, I take 5000 IU daily, and I intend to raise this to 10000 IU when I get vaccine doses. Again, this is not medical advice. Look up the studies yourself, and do your own research.

EDIT: negatively correlated

You mean this retracted one?

https://retractionwatch.com/2021/02/19/widely-shared-vitamin...

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/106/3/e1343/5934827

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.04.20188268v...

(Also, thanks. I didn't realize the one you cited as retracted, though there's some nuance there too.)

I could ask my doctor friend again, but seems to me that Vitamin D is a marker for poor health where the chicken or the egg conundrum is heavily in play.

Hopefully a negative correlation lol.

Thanks. I should clarify.

No, please! Have your blood checked for vitamin D levels, then ask a doctor what to do.

I am not a doctor. You are not a doctor. 'There was another study' is a terrible way to self-medicate. Consequently, 'look up the studies yourself' is bad advice for self-medication.

If you do not have a deficiency, you can severely damage your health by taking high doses, like destroying your kidneys. I guess that happens because those kidneys need to wash out all the crap you feed your body that it doesn't want nor need.

5000 IU is not a low dose and should only be taken if you have a diagnosed vitamin D deficiency.

In the spirit of what I said in my 1st post, please take what the above commenter said into serious consideration!

IIRC this was also brought up by Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, the UK Chief Medical Officer, a specialist in viral transmissions, antiviral drugs and pandemic preparedness.

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