Bill Gates believes that a much more lethal pandemic is approaching, and warns of measures that must be taken now. A few years ago, talking about a pandemic with a high level of mortality could cause doubts or even discord. Now, in the midst of a scenario taken by the covid-19 pandemic for almost two years, society in general can see the seriousness of the subject and therefore has better conditions for awareness.
Bill Gates warns of an even deadlier pandemic
This is not the first time that Bill Gates has warned of a lethal pandemic scenario. Some time ago, he had already talked about the risks of a potential pandemic, and that ended up materializing in 2020 when it triggered the covid-19.
Since the first confirmed case, 355 million people have been infected worldwide, and more than 5.6 million have died. While the Omicron and Delta variants of the coronavirus are some of the most transmissive viruses ever seen, Gates talks about an equally contagious type of pathogen, but with a much higher fatality rate.
In addition to the high number of deaths, a pandemic harms the economic sector, making resources increasingly scarce, in addition to medical care, such as treatments and vaccines. For that reason, Gates has been warning governments and other officials to play a precautionary role against what is to come.
Solution
Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world, stressed that it is necessary for governments to adopt measures to prevent the risks of the next pandemic and, for that, they must contribute financial resources.
“When it comes to spending billions to save trillions in economic damage and tens of millions of lives, I’d say it’s a pretty good insurance policy.”
Bill Gates
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK’s Wellcome Trust are donating $300 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), which helped form the Covax program to deliver vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.
The group is looking to raise $3.5 billion to cut the time needed to develop a new vaccine to 100 days. This is one of the ways to circumvent the consequences of a new pandemic, but a lot of innovation is needed, as Gates recalls.
Source: Exam