First, while all our post-COVID-19 samples were taken from patients who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 by qPCR immediately prior to bronchoscopy, persistent antigens have been observed months after other respiratory infections such as IAV (Kim et al., 2010), and SARS-CoV-2 antigen depots could drive ongoing cytotoxic activity and maintenance of CD8 Trm cells. This evidence concerns the gene CD8A and COVID-19.