Researchers have identified and replicated a hyperimmune response in nonhuman primates that could one day lead to treatments for people with severe cases of COVID-19. “This may be an important first step in understanding why some people become critically ill from COVID-19,” says senior author Jay Rappaport, director of the Tulane National Primate Research Center. “Once we understand that, we will be better equipped to treat them.” Most of the more than 2 million deaths caused by severe COVID-19 are the result of a hyperimmune response in the body that can rapidly cascade into respiratory failure. Veterinary pathologist and corresponding author Robert Blair says that this is the first time scientists have observed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a nonhuman primate model of COVID-19.