In COVID-19 patients, disease severity and high mortality are associated to respiratory failure from ARDS and multiple organ dysfunctions due to an impressive cytokine storm, with significant increased levels of several inflammatory mediators, including IL-6, interferon gamma (INFγ), TNFα, interleukin 17 (IL-17), IL-8 (McElvaney et al., 2020; Pedersen and Ho, 2020). The gene discussed is CXCL8; the disease is respiratory failure.