Bill Gates believes that the world is for far more dangerous pandemics than COVID-19

Microsoft founder Bill Gates believes that the world could face far more dangerous pandemics than COVID-19. He called on governments to allocate billions of dollars to fight future pathogens and increase vaccine stocks.

The omicron and delta coronavirus strains are “some of the most transmissible ever, but humanity may have to face a pathogen that causes much higher rates of death or severe disease.”

As Gates said, billions of dollars should be spent to prepare for future diseases, saving “trillions of dollars in damages” and saving billions of lives, which would be “not a bad insurance policy.”

Many innovations aimed at preparing for a future pandemic could also be useful for solving existing global health problems, such as by creating a vaccine for HIV and more effective vaccinations for tuberculosis and malaria.

The world is not yet doing enough to be prepared for a possible new pandemic. Such preparedness, he argued, must include the ability to produce a vaccine within 100 days and a manufacturing base capable of producing that vaccine in the next 100 days in quantities that meet global demand. To do this, Gates pointed out, more investment is needed in both health systems development and vaccine production.

The charitable foundation, led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda, is giving $300 million to innovations in epidemic preparedness that helped shape the Covax program to deliver vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.