if COVID-19 infection is permanent

[mellowtigger]

Trump claimed from the White House yesterday that 99% of COVID-19 infections "are totally harmless".  He lied.  You do know that he lies, right?  About everything?  Even if we go strictly by the available numbers, the USA on 2020 July 04 currently has 119,252 corpses and 2.8 million infections due to COVID-19.  Those numbers give a fatality rate of about 4% in the USA.  We know that we're still not testing fast enough, but that problem is beside the point.  Trump lies, even about this deadly reality.

I remain concerned that this infection (even an unnoticeable, asymptomatic case) will become a permanent, lifelong infection.  I haven't seen any articles on this topic, but I base my assertion on the following logic.

1. SARS-CoV-2 infects human cells using the ACE2 receptor pathway.
   https://www.drugtargetreview.com/news/56895/scientists-demonstrate-how-covid-19-infects-human-cells/
    
2. The ACE2 receptor is used in the human body in cells of the lungs, arteries, heart, kidney, and intestines.  These organs coincidentally match the sites of the most common symptoms of disease during COVID-19 infection.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angiotensin-converting_enzyme_2
    
3. The human body has only a few methods of negating viral infection within a cell.  It can destroy a cell externally, it can infiltrate a cell chemically to order its own self-destruction, or it can produce interferons that prevent the cell from producing more virus.  This last option leaves the cell infected, but it stops spreading infection as long as the interferon signal remains in place.
   https://www.immunology.org/public-information/bitesized-immunology/pathogens-and-disease/immune-responses-viruses
    
4. The body cannot simply destroy heart cells.  Those cells include a mechanism to prevent such destruction by the usual chemical signals from natural killer (NK) cells. "NK depletion had no significant effect on heart infection".
   https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.4023 (paywall)
    
5. The body must not destroy heart cells, because they are replaced at a rate of only about 1% per year, hence the need for a protection mechanism against destruction.
   https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/heart-muscle-can-regenerate-itself-in-very-limited-amounts-scientists-find
    
6. Even if my speculative heart cell pathway is ignored, it's still unclear if SARS-CoV-2 is infecting brain cells.
   https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200630/Mini-brains-can-be-infected-by-SARS-CoV-2-virus.aspx

If I'm right, it means that COVID-19 will join the ranks of permanent diseases in the human body.  Cold sores and smallpox become permanent infections by remaining within cells of the nervous system.  The nervous system is another example of cells that cannot simply be destroyed and regenerated as needed.  Both of those infections resurface as disease later in life when the immune system is depressed by age or distracted by some other active infection.  I suspect that the same will happen with COVID-19.

If so, it means that any other stress to the immune system could produce a sharp spike in blood clotting problems, leading to an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks for the rest of your life.  It would require lifelong treatment, since there would be no cure.

Wash your hands.  Wear a mask.  Maintain social distance.  Wait for an effective vaccine.

Oh, and happy July 4th holiday.  We're still putting kids in cages.