Iodine Derivatives can be Effective against COVID-19

Aug, 2021 - By WMR

A study conducted by a team of researchers from Institute of Innovation Works Investment Zrt, Budapest revealed that iodine can be effective against COVID-19.

The global pandemic COVID-19, first identified in the city of Wuhan, China in the late 2019, has spread across the globe rapidly affecting the healthcare and economic structures of the countries throughout the globe. The rapid spread of this novel virus is attributed to the shading of viral particles from symptomatic individuals mainly through respiratory droplets such as saliva or nasal fluid. These viral particles have a diameter within the range of 0. These respiratory droplets are produced when an infected individual talks, sneezes, and coughs and these droplets remain viable in aerosols for around three hours. This is responsible for the rapid spread of COVID-19 globally, claiming over 4 million deaths and 190 million confirmed cases as of July 20, 2021. Different mitigation measures for COVID-19 such as lockdowns, social distancing, vaccination drives, masking, and others have been adopted by majority of the countries across the globe to combat COVID-19. Moreover, researchers across the globe are actively studying oral and nasal sprays that can prevent COVID-19 infection. In this context, it is important to note that an Intranasal Povidone-Iodine (PVP-I) spray is found to be effective against COVID-19. In this study, researchers studied the virucidal efficiency of Essential Iodine Drops (EID) which can be an alternative to the PVP-I. The researchers observed that Iodine-V (EID formulation) can inactivate 99% of coronavirus within few minutes. Interestingly, the result of this study is similar to that of PVP-I. They observed EIDs as safer option, owing to the presence of less amount of iodine in its formulation in comparison to PVP-I, which is known to cause severe rashes. Additionally, the Iodine-V in EID can act as a mineral supplement which can help in maintaining healthy functioning of thyroid.

In a nutshell, the current study recommends that Iodine-V can be used orally/intranasal for reducing the risk of COVID-19 infections and can aid in decreasing the transmission rate of COVID-19.