Exactly what I have been thinking. In the cases where the person's immune system didn't take this approach (IgG4 direction), harm was caused, e.g. myocarditis, or neurological damage, or the myriad other auto-immune disorder responses, some resulting in death.

But for some people, the body decided to take a more hands off approach - this isn't really a danger, we'll just back off. And then the actual infection comes along and your body isn't sure what to do. Do we attack? Do we leave it be?

I am interested in exactly how or what IgG4 signals to the body. It tells it to not stress out too much, but does it still tell the system to clear the thing its attached to, just with less fuss? I mean, if it were bee venom or some other foreign substance, I assume the body will still want to clear it, just not in such an aggressive and reactive way.