It all makes sense, since olfactory bulb is the only cranial nerve actually belongs to central nervous system. It directly leads to midbrain, right next to hippocampus (in charge of memory), and amygdala (emotion). Loss/change of smell is because of the attack or damage from the viral infection. Theoretically, virus can enter the brain through olfactory bulb. Depending on the severity of the infection and how strong your innate immunity on your nasal mucosa, it could decide how spread out infection is. Once any infection gets in the brain, it's always harder to get rid than the rest of the body.
伤害了脑神经
味觉理论上不如嗅觉有predictive value,决定味觉的facial nerve算是周边神经,离大脑比较‘远’,而且确实以前有研究来拿嗅觉来predict cognitive function的
打不打疫苗都会感染,感染了就有丧失嗅觉long covid的风险。这study里有vaccination status information,但唯一predict cognitive function in post covid sequalae就是嗅觉改变。