While conventionally associated with hepatic pathology and transient demyelination, intranasal inoculation of MHV‐A59 into the respiratory tract elicits productive lung infection, production of proinflammatory cytokines including TNF, IL‐6, IL‐1β, and IFN‐γ, and alveolar pneumonia (Körner et al., 2020; Lavi et al., 1984; Yang et al., 2014), which models many aspects of acute respiratory distress syndrome seen in human SARS‐CoV‐2 patients. Here, IFNG is linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome.