i don't think old age is a problem as much as immune system being suppressed due to medical conditions such as cancer, chemo, steroid, my dr told me in that case, just need to retake viread again during immune suppression period.
Unfortunately, this is how I see it: as long as the major culprit of the hbv infection, i.e. the cccDNA exists in the liver cells, the infection is always there. In other words, no cure before the genomic reservoir of the hbv, i.e. cccDNA is totally eradicated. What is so surprising is that there are almost no pharmaceuticals working on drugs that mainly target the cccDNA which is the main reason for the persistence of the infection.
https://news.tracs.unc.edu/index.php/translational-news/nc-tracs-news/802-can-gene-editing-tools-cure-chronic-hepatitis-b
This looks promising, but far from clinical use... Also how you deliver CRSPR to every liver cell, delivery method might be tricky once they perfect CRSPR to cut out the cccdna.
A few weeks ago I had an appointment with one of the top professors in Poland specializing in HBV. He said the people may seroconvert but they will never get rid of it. You may be "cured" but you will take it with you to the end. Don't worry too much and live"r" your life.
Wa if you take it with! The meaning of cure word it changed then may be functional cute ?