Countries must work together if they want to deal with the coronavirus epidemic. This opinion was expressed in an interview with The Times by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. He also suggested that a joint fight against the disease would allow the world to reconsider its priorities and, in the future, solve other complex issues, including global climate change.
“The only thing that keeps me awake at night – the thought of a pandemic. 100 years have passed since we were faced with a major flu epidemic. People today travel more often, so the speed of spread will be higher. In the case of a disease spread by airborne droplets, the numbers will be monstrous“, Bill Gates said in an interview with The Times last year.
The second richest man in the world was not concerned about abduction, terrorism or loss of fortune, but a virus. In a new conversation with the publication, he did not remind about his warning, but admitted: “My worst nightmares have come true“.
Microsoft Founder is an expert in vaccines, testing and treatment. Bill and his wife Melinda set up a fund through which they try “eradicate disease“- first polio, and then malaria and HIV. Gatesobsessed with saving millions of lives and always knew perfectly well about the dangers of another disease terrorizing the world“Notes The Times.
Over the past three months, he has been desperately seeking a cure for his new adversary – COVID-19. Unlike President Trump, who proposed using a disinfectant to fight the virus, Gates “always preferred facts and expert opinion“. He can provide data on the population for each country in the world, and he quickly dials the numbers of prime ministers, epidemiologists, heads of pharmaceutical companies and Nobel laureates.
According to Gates, the global fight against the virus is like a world war, “except that in this case we are all on the same side“. Everyone overestimates their priorities and expectations. “A real shake-up is taking place in shaping the view on the government, life and all that is important … I think this pandemic will leave a mark on our generation forever“Adds the billionaire.
Gates is not very sympathetic to Trump. However, he states: “We are going to war with the leaders that we have. In retrospect, it will be possible to judge how well everything went“.
“I am convinced, what the existing structure in which the world moves towards nationalism and countries care only for themselves is counterproductive. Everyone wants the unifying cry to be heard as soon as possible. Very few people get the highest rating for their behavior in this situation.“He emphasizes.
According to Gates, governments are doing the right thing by introducing quarantine and isolation. The economy would have suffered anyway, but without these measures the number of coronavirus victims would have been in the millions.
The word “failure” does not suit the founder of Microsoft. He is confident that the world will return to the right track, but believes that science, not politics, is the key to resolving the crisis and preventing future pandemics. His fund will help raise the money needed to build factories that will be ready to produce billions of doses of several different candidate vaccines, even before one of them is approved, to speed up the process.
According to Gates, the goal should be to produce vaccines for the whole world. He is confident that Western countries should not stockpile vaccines and treatment methods that will also be urgently needed by developing countries, and expects the online summit on the global response to coronavirus next month will receive more than £ 6.5 billion from governments and organizations on research, development, production and distribution of drugs.
Gates believes that fighting coronavirus will allow the world to rethink its priorities. But “21st Century Missionary and Disease Hunter“Does not feel any naivety about the chances of a global correction. “I hope this helps countries work together to solve complex problems, including climate change, but now, being in the thick of things, it is very difficult to predict what will happen next“, He admits.
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