Studies have shown that IFIT2 and IFI44L are strongly induced in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of COVID-19 patients, leading to enhance antiviral and immune modulatory functions (Zhu et al. 2020; Shaath et al. 2020). The gene discussed is IFI44L; the disease is COVID-19.