IFNG and COVID-19: Moreover, symptomatic children with COVID-19 were found to have higher viral load, lower total lymphocyte count, lower lymphocyte subsets, and elevated interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) levels compared with asymptomatic patients (22, 23).