Even though a variety of treatments to mitigate cytokine storm have been introduced, no concrete treatment recommendations have been issued so far for COVID-19: in recent studies novel cytokine blockades targeting specific cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6 or Janus kinase (JAK) pathway have shown promising potential for the treatment of COVID-19. The gene discussed is IL1A; the disease is COVID-19.