Competition between these two proteases for ACE2 processing has previously been reported by Heurich et al.1 Promising recent studies point towards a soluble human recombinant isoform or a molecularly modified ACE2 protein as potential therapeutic tools to counter the spread of SARS-CoV-2.3 Consequently, when the viral load is high, one can hypothesise that the shedding barrier effect conferred by the ADAM17–ACE2 interaction may be overwhelmed, thus facilitating subsequent infection. The gene discussed is ACE2; the disease is infection.