x

Coronavirus vaccine: Bill Gates calls for global solution

Life can only fully return to normal once a vaccine to combat the new coronavirus is available globally, according to Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

READ ALSO: Lagos discharges 5 Coronavirus patients, records another death

A vaccine against the virus is not expected to be available before next year.

Work needed to be done quickly on the development of a new vaccine to enable a “billions of doses capacity” as quickly as possible, Gates said in an interview with the U.S. broadcaster Fox News on Sunday.

Developed nations, like the U.S., will be able to combat the virus sooner or later, he said, but the virus needed to be defeated globally.

“Things will not get back to truly normal until we have a vaccine that has gotten out to, basically, the entire world,” Gates told Fox News.

On Thursday, Gates called on the U.S. government to start constructing factories for the most promising vaccine developments in the fight against the virus.

That could lead to the loss of millions of dollars, as some vaccines would probably never be needed, Gates conceded on his blog, GatesNotes.

No private company could take on that risk, Gates said, but it would be the only way to ensure mass production of a vaccine.

“Because many of the top candidates are made using unique equipment, we’ll have to build facilities for each of them, knowing that some won’t get used,” Gates said on his blog.

“Private companies can’t take that kind of risk, but the federal government can,” he said.

The Gates Foundation, which mainly funds health programs, has already provided 105 million dollars to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

In a much-viewed TED talk in 2015, Gates said the world’s largest threat was a pandemic.

It came as U.S. president Donald Trump said the country could see between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths from Covid-19 before the pandemic is controlled.

Hot this week

Arsenal Hand Goalkeeper David Raya Improved Contract

Arsenal have rewarded Spanish goalkeeper David Raya with an...

Julius Berger strengthens team unity with Cultural Day celebration

By Lucy OmakpoTop-tier engineering and construction company, Julius...

Carnival in Aba as Tinubu commissions reconstructed Port Harcourt Road

By Lucy OmakpoThe commercial city of Aba was transformed...

Tinubu, Mutfwang, Akpabio, and Other Dignitaries Honour APC Chairman’s Mother at Jos Funeral

By Israel Adamu, JosPresident Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Plateau State...

EFCC Arraigns Company Accountant for Alleged N200m Theft in Lagos

Francis Wilfred‎The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the...

A’Ibom Police receive 255 new Recruits

By Ogenyi Ogenyi,UyoAkwa Ibom Commissioner of Police, Baba...

Residents decry rise in domestic violence after murder of Army Officer in A’ibom

By Ogenyi Ogenyi, UyoResidents of Uyo and other parts...

Gov Mutfwang’s Re-Election, Most Noble Ambition for Plateau – Commissioner

By Israel Adamu, JosThe Commissioner for Local Government and...

ITF Celebrates 54th Anniversary, Pledges More Training for Artisans

By Israel Adamu, JosThe Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Nigeria’s...

A’ibom shrine crisis; NGO seeks truce, appeals for discretion

By Ogenyi Ogenyi,UyoA Non Governmental Organisation, Open Forum for...

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img