DETROIT – Health experts say a coronavirus treatment could be ready in a few months, but a vaccine still wouldn’t be available for at least a year.
If the treatment proves effective, officials said it would be implemented almost immediately.
Questions about coronavirus? Ask Dr. McGeorge
The risk remains low in the United States, but experts are trying to communicate a sense of urgency about the virus -- not alarm.
“In a large population, most people who get infected will probably have very mild symptoms. Some will have severe illness, pneumonia and be critically ill,” said Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. “What’s unknown right now is what that full total will be. Will we have many more cases a year than we have with flu, which would be very difficult to handle, or will we be able to slow the spread and protect the health care system?”