CXCL8 and COVID-19: Previously, IL-8 has been identified as a key cytokine in COVID-19, serving as a strong stratifier for clinical outcomes and a biomarker for predicting disease severity and prognosis23,24 and upregulated in SARS-CoV-2 positive MKs,11 suggesting that IL-8 plays a crucial role in the inflammatory and thrombotic processes associated with COVID-19.