Efficacy of antioxidant therapy in mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection: An experimental arm of the CanTreatCOVID adaptive platform trial

While current SARS-CoV-2 outpatient therapies have demonstrated efficacy in lowering hospitalization and death rates, they also come with limitations, including high costs, restricted eligibility, and potential side effects. This highlights the need for alternative and safe therapeutic approaches. Antioxidant therapy offers a promising solution, as it has the potential to provide similar results to current medications without the risk of side effects, and at a lower cost. The Canadian Adaptive Platform Trial of Treatments for COVID in Community Settings (CanTreatCOVID) aims to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of various treatments for non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This study, as part of the CanTreatCOVID, will specifically examine the effectiveness of combined antioxidant therapy (consisting of 300ug selenium, 40mg zinc, 45mg lycopene, and 1.5g vitamin C) for 10 days compared to standard care and other study treatments. Eligible participants are adults (aged 18-49 years with chronic condition(s) or those aged 50+ years), who have tested positive for COVID-19 within 5 days of symptom onset. Participants will be randomly assigned to standard of care, combined antioxidant therapy, or other study interventions. The main outcomes are time to recovery and hospitalization/death at 28 days. This study aims to support the CanTreatCOVID initiative in identifying effective and accessible treatments for COVID. Outpatient treatments for SARS-CoV-2 infection should be safe, easy to administer, widely accessible, and cause minimal side effects. With antioxidants widely available at a fraction of the cost of current COVID-19 treatments and without the need for a prescription or close medical supervision, this alternative therapy has the potential to reach and benefit communities both in Canada and worldwide.