On December 28, 2018 the media announced the death of vivacious Bre Payton at 26 years of age from the swine flu (H1N1). I was reminded of the 60 minutes of New Zealand video called Living Proof which tells the story of a man infected with H1N1 and given up for dead by the medical community. He was given one chance in a billion of surviving. The family insisted the doctors try vitamin C and he made a complete recovery. The New Zealand Medical Association then came out against the routine use of vitamin C to treat the flu. I guess the point is that if you want to use vitamin C you might want to have it on hand and use it yourself, because odds are against a doctor or hospital wanting to give it to you.
I am also reminded of a lecture by Dr. John Cannell before the clinical nutrition group to which I belong. He told the story of how the flu swept through the facility where he worked. Virtually everyone in the facility became ill, but none of his patients, who were taking optimal levels of vitamin D, became ill. Research has shown that vitamin D promotes the formation of cathelicidin in the human body. This immune chemical provides powerful protection against colds and the flu.