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Topline
Fresh out of a third vaccine candidate gaining US regulatory approval, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates called rapid vaccine development a “miracle” that should help Americans return to “nearly normal” lifestyles by fall , but also warned that lawmakers are not doing enough globally to usher in a return to normalcy before the end of next year.
Bill Gates at the 2017 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Guardians Conference at Lincoln … [+]
PBG / AAD / STAR MAX / IPx
Highlights
Speaking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, Gates, 65, said fall is set to bring back some normalcy for Americans with “virtually all schools back in session,” some level of restaurant occupancy and sporting events taking place again.
“The big problem is that we are not doing enough to end the pandemic on a global scale,” Gates warned, adding that the vaccines so far “are only for rich countries,” which leaves the risk that contagious variants will spread abroad and reappear in the United States.
That risk – compounded by the potential wave of re-infections – means a full return to normal “could last all year 2022 unless we do a better job,” Gates said.
Additional vaccine factories in countries like India could help reduce the risk of infection overseas and speed things up, Gates suggested, pointing to vaccine makers AstraZeneca, NovaVax and Johnson & Johnson who are already working on such projects.
Speaking to CNN earlier on Sunday, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist, said the United States now has three “very good vaccines” that Americans should “not hesitate to take “- a sentiment that Gates echoed the five candidates approved for distribution in the Western world.
Crucial quote
“Unfortunately, the CDC did not succeed a tiny bit with the initial tasks,” Gates said on Sunday, pointing to the early gaps in the Covid-19 testing. “It’s a shame that the vaccine rollout started under the same kind of ‘denial administration’, and now it’s harder to get it back on, but supply and logistics won’t be limited within three months or so here in the United States.
Key context
Re-infections of Covid-19 have been confirmed since the virus started circulating in late 2019, but it is still unclear how widespread they could be, and they will surely be more harmful in countries where vaccination does not occur. hasn’t started up a gear yet. The AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine – one of two candidates not yet approved in the United States – was shipped to Ghana last week, but only a handful of developing countries have started significant vaccination efforts. Meanwhile, the world passed 2.5 million Covid-19 deaths on Thursday.
Surprising fact
A January study by researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research found that global economic production could be impacted by $ 3 trillion if vaccines did not reach emerging markets, advanced economies like the United States fast enough. United having to deal with half the impact.
Large number
$ 123.2 billion. This is what Gates, the second richest person in the world, is worth, according to Forbes.
Further reading
How to solve climate change: Bill Gates wants you to know double numbers (Forbes)
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