Fact Check: Consuming large doses of Vitamin C cannot stop the spread of coronavirus, the viral post is fake

A post shared on social media claims that consuming large doses of Vitamin C can slow down or stop the spread of coronavirus. Vishvas News investigated and found that the viral post is fake. Currently, there is no vaccine to treat novel coronavirus and there is no evidence that high doses of Vitamin C can stop the treatment.

Claim

A post shared on Facebook by a user named Pham Hanh reads: The coronavirus pandemic can be dramatically slowed, or stopped, with the immediate widespread use of high doses of vitamin C. The archived version of the post can be checked here.

Investigation

The story appears to have originated from a website named Orthomolecular Medicine News Service. The website claims that Vitamin C can prevent or cure coronavirus. There is no credible evidence that consuming high doses of Vitamin C can cure coronavirus. As per a report on the website of US National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health,
Orthomolecular medicine is the restoration and maintenance of health through the administration of adequate amounts of substances that are normally present in the body.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rXfDtigK-Y&feature=youtu.be

Vishvas News spoke to Dr. Suranjeet Chatterjee, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo. He said: There is no evidence high doses of the supplement can slow or stop the current coronavirus. Current coronavirus has no cure so far, it an just be prevented by maintaining hygiene.

As per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is currently no vaccine to prevent 2019-nCoV infection. 

As per World Health Organization (WHO), standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.

Vishvas News has earlier debunked fake and misleading posts related to coronavirus. These posts can be checked here.

Disclaimer: The #CoronavirusFacts database records fact-checks published since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic and its consequences are constantly evolving and data that was accurate weeks or even days ago might have changed. Remember to check the date when the fact-check you are reading was published before sharing it.

Conclusion: Consuming large doses of Vitamin C cannot stop the spread of coronavirus. there is no evidence that the spread of coronavirus can be stopped by consuming large doses of Vitamin C.

Tags

• Coronavirus