Compared to controls, COVID-19 patients had lymphocyte counts and levels of IL-6 and TNF-α bacterial diversity, abundance of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae familyiesabundance of opportunistic pathogens: Streptococcus, Rothia, Veillonella, and Actinomyces.A positive correlation was described between PCR levels and opportunistic bacteria. Here, TNF is linked to COVID-19.