they are sort of hinting at something rather fascinating and I wonder how far I am extrapolating: > Thus, nasopharyngeal viral loads represent a major correlat

they are sort of hinting at something rather fascinating and I wonder how far I am extrapolating: > Thus, nasopharyngeal viral loads represent a major correlate of the systemic antibody response, whereas age seems to have only a minor effect In other words: you get bad COVID when you inhale it and it infects your airways. But when the primary infection starts elsewhere (eg: bodily fluids) the innate immune system seems to have the upper hand. Imagine if all that frantic hand washing at the beginning of the pandemic was actually counter-productive because infection via fluids is almost like getting a vaccination: a very very mild infection that is rapidly eliminated. Further imagine if kids were partially protected because they mostly gain initial infection through bodily fluids very early on from their parents or other kids. That's a lot of imagining and extrapolating but it's quite fascinating to think about.