Just a couple of observations from my own amateur reading of research papers from PubMed, et al. . .
The severity of illness from a virus depends, to a VERY great extent, on how many viral particles one is exposed to at any one time. A large number of viral particles accumulated over a short period of time usually results in a more severe illness, while a small number of viral particles accumulated over a long period of time usually results in a much less severe illness, often with few or no symptoms expressed at all, with an immune system then able to ward off future infections by that virus.
This is why lowering viral load and spreading that lower viral load out over time is a more sensible strategy than foolishly attempting absolute prevention of infection by a virus (which is impossible unless one LIVES in a Level 4 biohazard lab, with absolutely NO infectious agents present–even in yourself).