For example, hyper-inflammatory responses including high levels of circulating cytokines and chemokines (particularly interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α) (Xu et al. 2020), IL-10 and C-reactive protein (Del Valle et al. 2020), IL-17 (Darif et al. 2021), and IL-18 (Valizadeh et al. 2020); lymphopenia and immune cell infiltration in infected organs are considered major determinants of COVID-19 severity (Xu et al. 2020). The gene discussed is CXCL8; the disease is COVID-19.