MADISON, WI (WTAQ) — Doctors working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic are grappling with a virus that has never been seen before, and as such, they’re learning about how the virus operates on a day-to-day basis.
Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO Dr. John Raymond says there are a few things they know for sure.
“The most important thing to know about COVID-19 is that there is no treatment and no vaccine,” Raymond said in a recorded statement distributed to news outlets. “You can be contagious while you’re not symptomatic.”
The lack of any approved medical treatment is something that Dr. Mark Kaufman with the Wisconsin Hospital Association says is temporary.
“There are many trials going on with medications right now, and hopefully they’ll identify a current medication, and then ideally there will be a vaccine in 12 to 18 months,” said Kaufman.
Dr. Smriti Khare , Children’s Wisconsin President of Primary Care says they’ve learned that it’s not just the old and sick who are at risk.
“What we’re seeing from the data in the US has been that least 1/3rd of the hospitalizations have been of those under 44 years of age,” Khare said. “What we know about kids is that when they get the disease it tends to be milder, which means they can carry the disease with minimal symptoms.”
In Wisconsin, 28% of positive COVID-19 tests belong to those under the age of 40.
