The World Wasn ’t Prepared for This Pandemic. Bill Gates Says We Can Do Better

The COVID-19 pandemic has cost the global economy trillions of dollars. If the international community invested even a fraction of that money into things like disease surveillance, vaccine manufacturing and better medications, it would slash the chances of another, similar pandemic, philanthropist Bill Gates argued in a conversation with TIME. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, “We lost our attention to the preparedness and we got lucky that some of the tools worked”—namely mRNA vaccines. We can’t rely on that kind of luck next time, Gates says. Gates also discussed pandemic preparedness in a Nov. 8 speech at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, an event dedicated to finding solutions for major problems in global health and development. In his speech, he called for research into drugs and vaccines that can target multiple diseases; shots that are thermostable and longer-lasting than current COVID-19 vaccines; and shots that could deliver the equivalent of multiple doses at once. Gates also argued that countries need to invest in disease surveillance and vaccine manufacturing, particularly in regions where the current infrastructure is lacking. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Gates reportedly stepped down from Microsoft’s board last year during an investigation into his past relationship with a female employee. Gates’ spokespeople have said his resignation was unrelated to that matter and that he wanted to focus on philanthropy. He...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news