STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Researchers have found that people taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) have increased odds of testing positive for COVID-19
- The pH environment created by PPIs may allow the angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor — with which the virus invades the body — to more easily reach the GI tract
- Those taking PPIs twice daily were found to be nearly four times more likely to have COVID-19
- PPIs are linked to liver and kidney damage, pneumonia, C. difficile and other serious conditions, but natural treatments can replace them