Taken together, critically ill COVID-19 patients and healthy controls did not substantially differ in their phenotype and cytokine response to LPS, HKLM and A. fumigatus, but a lower expression of CD80 on monocytes and an abrogated release of IL-10, IL-6, TNF, IL-1α, and IL-1β indicates an impaired response to C. albicans. The gene discussed is IL1B; the disease is COVID-19.