Better COVID-19 Outcomes with Pepcid® AC

A new study suggests the heartburn drug famotidine (Pepcid AC) may help COVID-19 patients. Another recent study found that taking Pepsid lowered the risk of death or need for ventilator by 58%.

The immune benefits of this family of medications, acid blockers, is something we have been discussing for decades. So it's not surprising to see a 73% lower death rate in people hospitalized with COVID-19 who take these. For example, for the last three decades we've found that people with acute mono recover far more quickly with medications in this family — specifically cimetidine, famotidine (Pepcid AC), and ranitidine (Zantac). These three acid blocker medications have profound immune effects and have even been studied in cancer treatment.

For those needing acid blocker medications, I recommend these three as opposed to PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) such as omeprazole. The PPIs likely result in about 30,000 excess US deaths a year from a host of problems. They are also associated with an increased risk of dying from COVID-19. This isn't seen with Zantac or Pepcid. (Note that Pepcid is currently the better choice of the two, as recent batches of Zantac have contained contaminants.) It's likely best to begin taking this early in the illness. I do not recommend its use for prevention. Studies are looking at a relatively high dose of 80 mg three times a day, though it isn't clear that such high doses are needed.