Identified hub-high traffic genes in the blue module included several important transcriptional regulatory factors, i.e., NFKB1and HIF1A. The nuclear factor-kappa b subunit-1 (NFKB1), an important transcription factor belonging to the NF-κB family, stimulates transcription of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL6, TNF‐α, and IL1 as well as chemokines such as IL8 (CXCL8), all with major roles in causing a COVID-19-induced cytokine storm (86, 87, 130, 131). This evidence concerns the gene CXCL8 and COVID-19.