Not too long ago, American billionaire Bill Gates made a rather concerning prediction:
“If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war — not missiles but microbes,” he said.
“We have invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrents, but we’ve actually invested very little in a system to stop an epidemic. We’re not ready for the next epidemic.”
This was in a Ted Talk six years ago. Yes, Mr Gates saw this coming before anyone else did.
Now, he has another prediction, and fortunately, it’s a lot more positive this time.
Bill Gates: COVID-19 Will Just be Like the Flu by Mid-2022
Gates believes that by the middle of next year, the COVID-19 fatality and infection rates will be comparable or even lower than that of the seasonal flu.
The Microsoft co-founder noted that countries have had different approaches to dealing with the pandemic – China locked down its borders early on, while some countries like the UK acted like it was the flu.
While it did slow the rate of infection, and consequently save lives, Gates pointed out that it also means China has “very little natural immunity”, which is why they have to ramp up their vaccination drive before easing border restrictions.
On the other hand, the UK, which opened up quicker and earlier than many countries, has much higher hospitalisation and infection rates than other European nations.
Joked Unvaccinated Residents in Singapore Should be Caned
Mr Gates was speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, a forum now infamous and known by everyone in the country for certain dining-in restrictions, or a lack thereof.
At the forum, Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait pointed out that even though the Singapore government has done well in stemming the spread of the virus, there are still 60,000 people here who do not want to be vaccinated.
Gates joked that unvaccinated residents here should be caned, saying, “You would have thought they had a lash for these people.”
Investing in Pandemic Preparedness is the “Best Insurance Policy”
While few took his warning in 2015 seriously, Mr Gates is hoping that the COVID-19 pandemic will compel governments to invest in pandemic preparedness.
“We (need to) keep reminding people that Covid-19 cost trillions and killed millions, that this is going to be the best insurance policy that anybody ever talked about compared to defence budgets, or fire departments, or big corporations.”
If the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t provoke this response, well, then nothing will.
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Featured Image: Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock.com
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