"Klenner's paper (Klenner FR. The treatment of poliomyelitis and other virus diseases with vitamin C. J. South. Med. and Surg., 111:210-214, 1949.) on curing 60 cases of polio in the epidemic of 1948 should have changed the way infectious diseases were treated but it did not." - Robert Cathcart"

As of the first week in March 2020, China is no longer the leader in new cases and deaths from the SARS-nCoV-2 virus that produces the COVID-19 disease. As of the second week in March 2020, China announced the disease has peaked as is on the decline now. One might reasonably ask what they did there to accomplish this.

There are two causes of death from this (and most!) viral disease: cytokine storms and oxidative stress. Both present as "sepsis", an archaic colloquialism.

From:
Tisoncik JR, Korth MJ, Simmons CP, Farrar J, Martin TR, Katze MG. Into the eye of the cytokine storm. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2012;76(1):16–32. doi:10.1128/MMBR.05015-11 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3294426/

"Cytokines are a broad and loose category of small proteins that are important in cell signaling. The intensity of the inflammatory response in the lungs reflects a balance between proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., TNF and IL-1β) and their cognate soluble receptors or inhibitors (TNFR1, TNFR2, and IL-1RA), which inhibit the activity of these inflammatory cytokines in the aqueous phase of alveolar fluid (113)"

Ascorbic acid stops these from getting out of hand. Niacin (B3) does as well. Somewhat embarrassingly to medicine, cigarette smoke does too. Vitamin C is a bit safer than smoking of course.

Oxidative stress is easier to understand. Disease produce oxidants, peroxidase complexes. These are neutralized by the antioxidant system. When the amount of oxidants exceeds the body's ability to counter with antioxidants, you could die. The Chinese began using C in the second week of Feb and had 50 tons shipped into Wuhan. If you read the reports they mention no person that received C died. The US and Europe need to learn this, fast. This has actually been in the medical literature for 75 years.

Despite being known to science for decades Vitamin C was finally given a fair trial at one Hospital in Norfolk Virgina. Early advocates such as Dr. Peter Levy suggest "the genie is out of the bottle", and once hospitals start experiencing the same increase in survival shown in Norfolk it should spread.

Who wants to be the last US hospital to lose half their ER/ICU Sepsis patients?

Feb 3 DSM sends 50 tons of Vitamin C to Wuhan. http://twitter.com/DSM/status/1224262885729349633

Feb 11 - Vitamin C Infusion for the Treatment of Severe 2019-nCoV Infected Pneumonia http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04264533

Feb 17 - Majority of novel coronavirus patients nationwide receive TCM treatments http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202002/17/WS5e4a5d58a310128217278262.html

See also http://www.wtdao.com/article/94/What+kinds+of+Chinese+medicinal+materials+have+been+affected+by+the+%22epidemic%22+during+the+Spring+Festival%3F.html and note especially: “The recommended prescriptions were as follows: ephedra 6g, almond 9g, raw gypsum 15g, Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch 3G, Huoxiang 10g, Magnolia officinalis 10g, Atractylodes macrocephala 15g, Caoguo 10g, Pinellia ternata 9g, Poria cocos 15g, rhubarb 5g, Astragalus membranaceus 10g, Tingli 10g, Radix Paeoniae Rubra 10g.” - the Astragalus membranaceus is a potent source of selenium and occurs in a large percent of traditional Chinese medicine formulations.

Mar 1 - Comprehensive treatment and management of corona virus disease 2019: expert consensus statement from Shanghai Shanghai Clinical Treatment Expert Group for corona virus disease 2019 - Published 2020-03-01 Cite as Chin J Infect Dis, 2020,38:Epub ahead of print. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1000-6680.2020.0016 "(2) treatment of light and ordinary patients: Vitamin C is administered at a dose of 50 to 100 mg / kg per day, and the continuous use time is aimed at a significant improvement in the oxygenation index. If lung lesions progress, it is recommended to apply large doses of broad-spectrum protease inhibitors from 600 to 1 million units / day until the pulmonary imaging examination improves." "6. Prevention and treatment of ‘cytokine storm’: Large doses of vitamin C and unfractionated heparin are recommended. Large doses of vitamin C are administered intravenously at a dose of 100 to 200 mg / kg daily. Continuous use time is aimed at a significant improvement in the oxygenation index."

Niacin Modulates Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Secretion. A Potential Mechanism Involved in its Anti-atherosclerotic Effect. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24155799

Cigarette smoke silences innate lymphoid cell function and facilitates an exacerbated type I interleukin-33-dependent response to infection. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25786179

Marik 2018: Vitamin C for the treatment of sepsis: The scientific rationale http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163725818300706

Interview: The Marik Protocol for Deadly Sepsis Is Already Saving Many Lives: The Roles of Vitamins C and B1 (Thiamine) - An Interview with Dr. Paul E. Marik, MD, FCCP, FCM, MBBCH http://wholefoodsmagazine.com/columns/vitamin-connection/the-marik-protocol-for-deadly-sepsis-is-already-saving-many-lives-the-roles-of-vitamins-c-and-b1-thiamine/

Talk: The Cure for Sepsis with Paul Marik (35 mins) http://www.criticalcarereviews.com/index.php/meetings/485-ccr-meetings/ccr-meeting-2017/2896-the-cure-for-sepsis-with-paul-marik

Vitamin C & Thiamine in Sepsis http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03592277

Evidence is stronger than you think: a meta-analysis of vitamin C use in patients with sepsis http://ccforum.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13054-018-2191-x

Could vitamin C save lives in sepsis? These hospitals aren’t waiting for proof. http://pulmccm.org/critical-care-review/vitamin-c-save-lives-sepsis/

Metabolic sepsis resuscitation: the evidence behind Vitamin C http://emcrit.org/pulmcrit/metabolic-sepsis-resuscitation/

Clinical trial testing vitamin and steroid combination in sepsis patients underway at Emory http://news.emory.edu/stories/2018/10/sevransky_victas_trial_for_sepsis/index.html