IFNA1 and COVID-19: Efficient initiation of IFN production in the upper airways can lead to a more rapid elimination of the virus and may limit viral spread to the lower airways, as suggested by studies that report defects in IFN signaling of severe COVID-19 patients (Bastard et al., 2020; Pairo-Castineira et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2020).