In the case of MAFB/MAF, and in spite of the fact that both factors regulate the expression of monocyte-recruiting chemokines and that monocytes give rise to the pathogenic pulmonary macrophages in COVID-19, we envision that altering the MAFB/MAF ratio should only be tried during the overwhelming pro-inflammatory response at the later stages of the disease, a time at which the consequences of altering myeloid differentiation would be less detrimental. This evidence concerns the gene MAFB and COVID-19.