Ralph Baric, PhD, perked up when he saw that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 illness, enters the lungs through ACE2 receptors, and that people with hypertension have worse outcomes than those with any other underlying condition. "I've thought it needed to be explored in more detail for quite a while," said Baric, a professor of epidemiology, microbiology, and immunology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who has been studying coronavirus outbreaks for decades. Researchers and doctors are trying to determine whether the spike in serious COVID-19 illness in those with baseline...