BTK activation occurs in macrophages when TLRs bind single-stranded RNA, as may occur in SARS-CoV-2 infection, leading to NF-κB-dependent expression of multiple inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, including IL-6 which we observed was induced in COVID-19 monocytes and decreased in plasma following acalabrutinib treatment (Fig. 1). This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and COVID-19.