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). The gene discussed is BTK; the disease is COVID-19.