The new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread to nearly every country causing coronavirus disease-19 or COVID-19. At present, there are no approved vaccines or pharmaceutical treatments available for prevention or treatment of COVID-19 infection. Globally, social distancing and self-quarantine are the only protective measures to slow the rate of COVID-19 infections.

Zinc is a common stimulant of antiviral immunity. In COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, zinc deficiency could be significant for the outcome of patients with severe clinical courses including elderly patients, and patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes or chronic obstructive lung disease. It is also speculated that younger adults or infants and adolescents with zinc deficiency might be at higher risk for SARS-CoV-2 infections. Hence, it is postulated that effective zinc supplementation during treatment of COVID-19 with chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (CQ/HCQ)that have zinc ionophore characteristics can result in increased intracellular zinc levels in general and in lysosomes. In patients who are at high risk in developing severe COVID-19, oral administration of adequate doses of zinc should be considered.

Supplementation of zinc is recognized to be clinically safe if dosing ranges and upper limits of dosing are based on suggested dietary allowances. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, oral zinc supplementation with 45 mg zinc per day for 12 months confirmed a significant lower prevalence of infections in the elderly and it was well tolerated.

Therefore, CQ/HCQ in combination with zinc should be considered in the treatment of COVID-19 patientsas an added study arm for COVID-19 clinical trials.

Source: Derwand R, Scholz M. Does zinc supplementation enhance the clinical efficacy of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine to win todays battle against COVID-19? [Published online ahead of print, 2020 May 6]. Med Hypotheses. 2020; 142:109815. doi:10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109815