Why hasn't my daughter caught COVID? 2 factors likely protect her — and maybe you too

The first time my daughter, Rosy, was exposed to SARS-CoV-2, I panicked.

It was November 2020, before vaccines were available. Someone in Rosy's class had tested positive and been contagious in the classroom for two days. So we all quarantined at home and braced ourselves for a horrible few weeks of sickness.

But after 10 days, nothing had happened. Rosy never showed signs of an infection and never tested positive. She had dodged the virus.

Then about 10 months later, the same thing happened. And again two weeks later. And four months later. After each exposure, we did the same routine: Quarantine. Wait. And test repeatedly.

Over the course of the pandemic, my daughter has been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, at least four times. Mostly at school. Once at a party. Every time, somehow, she seems to have escaped an infection.

So my question is, why?

Of course, the simplest answer is that she been infected and we just didn't know it. Despite all our testing, we missed it. An from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that at least 58% of children under age 18