It’s been a rough year to say the least, and the start of 2021 is looking like it could be even tougher. According to Bill Gates, however, by this time next year, things will be a whole lot better.
The pandemic is far from over, with some countries such as the UK and US hitting new record case levels over the Christmas period. For many of us, it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but in a new blog post, Gates has said he’s optimistic that thanks to the arrival of the vaccines, by summer next year, ‘life will be much closer to normal than it is now’.
The Microsoft founder, who has donated tens of millions of dollars to Covid research, pointed to the approval of three vaccines in the UK, with many others currently in development, as evidence that the tide is turning in the fight against Covid.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been a key funder of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, which helps fund vaccine development, and Gates has been outspoken throughout the pandemic about the importance of mass vaccinations as a route out of the pandemic.
But that’s not the only reason Gates is hopeful that happier days are on the horizon. In his blog post, the world’s second-richest man also praised the unprecedented co-operation between vaccine researchers and manufacturers to ensure that the estimated 5-10 billion doses needed globally are produced as quickly as possible.
He said:
Many pharmaceutical companies are seeing the benefit of working together in new ways like this.
It’s similar to how, during World War II, the U.S. ramped up its manufacturing capacity at a mind-blowing rate by converting auto factories into tank and truck factories.
