We previously described in vivo the association of altered epithelial chloride transport in patients with reversible pulmonary edema associated with severe meningococcal septicemia, which like COVID 19 lung disease is characterized by a “cytokine storm” (Eisenhut et al., 2006), which is also characterized by high levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF alpha (Van Deuren et al., 1995).TNF alpha can inactivate ion transport draining alveolar and interstitial fluid as explained previously (Eisenhut and Wallace, 2011; Peteranderl et al., 2017). Here, TNF is linked to meningococcemia.