IL6 and COVID-19: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are commonly measured due to their associations with disease severity and prognosis; IL-6 is central to cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and organ failure [4–9], while CRP closely follows disease trajectory and mortality, with up to 86% of COVID-19 patients demonstrating a rapid increase in CRP [7, 10–14].