Patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms demonstrate high levels of Interluekin-2 (IL-2), Interluekin-7 (IL-7), Interluekin-10 (IL-10), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP-10), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1), and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α (MIP1α) in serum, that suggest that severe COVID-19 is a result of cytokine release syndrome (CRS). The gene discussed is CCL2; the disease is congenital rubella syndrome.