Respiratory failure and death during early infection are associated with high pulmonary SARS-CoV-2 titers, epithelial and endothelial injury, infection of epithelial basal cells, neutrophil infiltration, and induction of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) while late mortality is associated with pulmonary infiltration with CD8 T cells expressing PD1, activated macrophages and reduced ISG transcript levels2,3. Here, CD8A is linked to infection.