This is in line with the evidence that severe disease arises, in part, due to an insufficient initial innate immune response, followed by a maladaptively strong and persistent inflammatory response and the prior identification of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and CXCL10 as prognostic markers for COVID-19 disease severity in hospitalised patients33,66–69. This evidence concerns the gene CXCL8 and COVID-19.