IL6 and lymphopenia: SARS-CoV-2 mostly affects levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines typical of T helper 1 (TH1) cell response such as IL-6, IFNγ, IP-10, and MCP1 [11, 12], that attract monocytes and T cells to the infected site [13, 14], which probably contributes to the lymphopenia and increased neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio seen in ~ 80% of patients [15, 16].