evidence: COVID-19 associated pneumonia, derived from SARS-Cov2 infection, led to high and critical occupancy of intensive care resources around the world and stressed the healthcare system capacities immensely. In a surveillance study in the United States 14% of COVID-19 patients were hospitalized, 2% were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), and 5% died1. The intra-hospital mortality of hospitalized patients summed up to 20% due to progression to COVID-19 related life-threatening complications, e.g. acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), septic shock, or multiorgan failure requiring oxygen support or invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV)2,3. In case of insufficient oxygenation or decarboxylation despite IMV and prone positioning a veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) could become necessary. Supporting data derived from the successful management of severe respiratory failure in patients with H1N1 influenza A and Middle East respiratory syndrome4,5. Therefore, with growing numbers of severe ARDS during the COVID-19 pandemic the use of ECMO support increased depending on available resources. [...] Nicholson, C. J. et al. Estimating risk of mechanical ventilation and in-hospital mortality among adult COVID-19 patients admitted to Mass General Brigham: The VICE and DICE scores. EClinicalMedicine.33, 100765. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.100765 (2021). [...] Hoertel, N. et al. Association between antidepressant use and reduced risk of intubation or death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: results from an observational study. Mol. Psychiatry26(9), 5199–5212. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01021-4 (2021).