IFNA1 and viral infectious disease: When considered in concert, the results from the two studies (Wang et al., 2020; Zang et al., 2020) lead to a model where SARS-CoV-2 viral infection promotes IFN secretion and the expression of the IFN-stimulated gene CH25H. This leads to paracrine or autocrine action of 25-HC leading to inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein mediated membrane fusion and inhibition of viral replication.