New York – Billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates, wrote on his personal blogpost ‘Gates Notes’, that the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is like a world war.
He further wrote that “Melinda and I grew up learning that World War II was the defining moment of our parents’ generation. In a similar way, the COVID-19 pandemic—the first modern pandemic—will define this era. No one who lives through Pandemic I will ever forget it.”
He added that the economic impact of the shutdown is hitting low-income, minority workers the hardest.
“I am often asked when large-scale vaccination will start. Like American’s top public health officials, I say that it is likely to be 18 months, even though it could be as short as nine months or closer to two years. A key piece will be the length of the phase 3 trial, which is where the full safety and efficacy are determined,” he further wrote.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation last week donated $150 million in the global fight against COVID-19. Last month, the foundation had donated $100 million towards the global fight against the pandemic.
“So far, developing countries like India and Nigeria account for a small portion of the reported global infections. One of the priorities for our foundation has been to help ramp up the testing in these countries so they know their situation. With luck, some factors that we don’t understand yet, like how the weather might affect the virus’s spread, will prevent large-scale infection in these countries,” he further wrote.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on April 15 condemned US President Trump for halting funding towards WHO amidst the pandemic. Gates, on Monday, also lauded steps taken by the Modi government to fight COVID-19.
In a letter to Modi, Gates said he was glad that the Indian government is fully utilizing its exceptional digital capabilities in its COVID-19 response and has launched the ‘Aarogya Setu’ digital app for coronavirus tracking, contact tracing, and to connect people to health services.
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