Although in most countries of the world, vaccination once morest covid-19 has made governments relax some measures among citizens, such as the non-use of face masks, both in open and closed spaces, for some important figures such as Bill Gates the pandemic is not over; in fact, the worst was yet to come.
As explained by the tycoon, in conversation with Financial Timesthe truth is that there is a risk “much higher than 5%” that covid-19 might strike back in the coming weeks or months, with an even worse attack than the first recorded in 2020, the year in which the WHO called it a “pandemic”.
According to Gates, the omicron variant would not only not be the last of the new coronavirus, but it would also not be the most dangerous. As he cited, a new strain is expected to arrive that, in addition to being much more contagious, is more virulent, that is, much more threatening to human life.
“I don’t want to be a voice of pessimism, but it’s well above the 5% risk that out of this pandemic, we haven’t even seen the worst,” the Microsoft founder said.
He then added: “We are still at risk of this pandemic generating a variant that would be even more transmissive and even more fatal.”
Thinking regarding this, Gates did not miss the opportunity to send a clear invitation to all the governments of the world: get more out of the ‘pockets’, and start investing good capital in more reliable epidemiological systems, as well as in technological modelers with which power, not only treating people better in the midst of the pandemic, but to identify its dangers even before they occur.
It should be remembered that this is not the first time that Bill Gates has spoken out regarding covid-19, in fact, he has been one of the tycoons who has shown the greatest concern regarding the issue, even talking regarding new pandemics that might come following the health crisis. that the world lives today.
He said so last February, when he mentioned, in an interview with Hadley Gamble of CNBC, that a pathogen other than SARS-CoV-2 is most likely bringing the next biological catastrophe to the world.
“We will have another pandemic. It will be a different pathogen next time.”Gates assured.
How to end the coronavirus in the world?
In January of this year, Gates mentioned, through his official blog Gates Noteswhich since its foundation have developed several strategies to overcome covid-19 and, in addition, counteract attacks from other viruses that may appear in the future.
As he explained, one of these initiatives is related to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the investments that the Gates Foundation itself has made to it over the past five years.
“I am excited to announce a new commitment of $150 million for his future work on covid and beyond,” Gates wrote on his official blog.
“The rise of omicron has been an unfortunate reminder that the only way to eliminate the threat of covid-19 anywhere is to eliminate it everywhere. As long as the virus continues to circulate at a high level in some parts of the world, we will always be at risk of another devastating variant. Breakthrough innovations, including vaccines and new antivirals, will save lives, but won’t really hasten the end of the pandemic until they’re within everyone’s reach”, added the ex-CEO of Microsoft.
For Gates, it is undeniable that the pandemic showed the shortcomings that human beings have to act from cooperation and empathy, and that what is truly important is, precisely, to act and think for and for others and in this way “support the innovations that will prevent disasters in the future”.
“We need to do better the next time the world is faced with a pathogen that has the potential to cause a pandemic (…). Imagine how different the last two years would have been if everyone in the world had access to safe and effective covid vaccines within six months. I know it’s hard to think regarding the next pandemic as the omicron variant surges around the world, but we have an opportunity to make sure the world never experiences this hardship once more. Investing in organizations like CEPI is an important step that brings us closer to a world without pandemics”, he concluded.
