Virus World provides a daily blog of the latest news in the Virology field and the COVID-19 pandemic. News on new antiviral drugs, vaccines, diagnostic tests, viral outbreaks, novel viruses and milestone discoveries are curated by expert virologists. Highlighted news include trending and most cited scientific articles in these fields with links to the original publications. Stay up-to-date with the most exciting discoveries in the virus world and the last therapies for COVID-19 without spending hours browsing news and scientific publications. Additional comments by experts on the topics are available in Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/juanlama/detail/recent-activity/)
The Covid-19 pandemic has set back public health efforts by years. But in an interview, the tech philanthropist expressed hope about new avenues for foreign aid. On Monday, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released the fourth of its annual Goalkeeper reports, which track the slow but steady progress the world has made toward more than a dozen health-related goals set forth by the United Nations in 2015. This year’s was unrelentingly grim. The coronavirus pandemic has scorched away years of work: More families are in dire poverty, malnutrition is increasing, far fewer children are getting immunized. The assessment comes as the United States, stung harder by the virus than any other country, is retreating from the global health stage and seems focused primarily on saving itself. Could it ever return to its role as the world’s leader in both competence and generosity? In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Gates devoted a half-hour to explaining why he was optimistic that it would.
“It’s my disposition,” he said. “Plus, I’ve got to call these people up and make the pitch to them that this really makes sense — and I totally, totally believe it makes sense.” By “these people,” he was referring to leading figures in the White House and Congress, whom he has personally lobbied to do “this”: namely, add an extra $4 billion to the fiscal stimulus package now under debate in Congress so that poor countries can get Covid-19 vaccines. Ultimately his goal is far more ambitious: to double American foreign aid from less than 0.25 percent of gross domestic product to 0.5 percent or more. He sees the pandemic as an opportunity to do that. “As they say,” he added cheerily, “the U.S. government — after it’s tried every other thing — does the right thing.” As he did in Silicon Valley while battling competitors and antitrust regulators, Mr. Gates can calculate his chances of success with a ruthless logic. That has rarely been as true as it is now, as a once-in-a-century pandemic devastates the impoverished countries where he focuses his giving. The damage has been wrought less by the virus — so far it has killed much smaller percentages of the populations of Asia and Africa than of the Americas and Western Europe — than by the economic impact, which has been far greater in countries where people and governments “have no spare reserves to draw on,” Mr. Gates said.
The collapse of tourism, declines in remittances from relatives working abroad, the shutdown of ports, mines and oil wells, school closings and new stresses on fragile health care systems have all created enormous suffering. Not since 1870 have so many countries been in recession at once, according to the Goalkeeper report. Between 1990 and 2020, the percentage of the world’s population living in extreme poverty, which is now defined as living on less than $2 a day, shrank to less than 7 percent from 37 percent. In just the past few months, 37 million people have fallen back below the line, the report estimated. “The longer the pandemic lasts, the worse its economic scars will be,” it added. The percentage of the world’s children who received all the vaccines recommended by the World Health Organization rose last year to a record high of 84 percent. That figure has now dropped to 70 percent — back where it was 25 years ago. Deaths from malaria, malnutrition, childbirth complications and diseases like measles and diphtheria have begun to increase. Nonetheless, Mr. Gates was optimistic that the lost ground would be recovered “in two to three years.” The pipelines of money from tourism, remittances, World Bank loans and other sources would begin flowing again as soon as the whole world was vaccinated, ending the pandemic; he expected that to be accomplished by sometime in 2022. Until then, however, there will be a period of intense pain and even greater inequity between rich countries and poor ones. One of the starkest conclusions in the foundation’s report is that nearly twice as many deaths could be prevented if Covid-19 vaccines were distributed to all countries based on their populations rather than to the 50 richest countries first.
I find it interesting that so many rich people are trying to be the voice of poor people. You have men like Bill Gates who made more money during the pandemic than in previous years trying to be a voice for people who dont know where their next meal is. He is dissapointed in a system that was set back years due to the pandemic because he wont benefit economically.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman shares measures the public can take to help curb COVID-19 from home. By collectively following public health guidance, practicing physical distancing, and giving financially when able, communities can save lives around the world. As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread around the world, the foundation is ramping up support for organizations doing important, life-saving work. Like you, we are saddened by the stories we see on the news and that we’re hearing from our own loved ones affected by this disease. We’ve already committed up to $100 million for efforts on COVID-19 globally, with another $5 million to support excellent programs in the greater Seattle area, and we’ll continue to see where our resources and expertise can be most effective as we take on this threat.
First, follow public health guidance. We are all in this together, and the more we do to keep ourselves and our neighbors healthy, the better positioned we’ll all be to weather this challenge. That means washing your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, avoiding touching your face, cleaning surfaces regularly, and coughing into your elbow to prevent spreading germs. It also means respecting any shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders advised by leaders in your state and community. It’s not just for your own protection; it’s also to support people working in our healthcare services and other vital industries who aren’t able to stay indoors or work from home. With a highly contagious pathogen like COVID-19, small steps really can make a big difference.
Second, practice physical distancing. Stay home as much as possible. Avoid all nonessential travel and social gatherings. Look for ways to turn in-person events into remote connections, and to interact using phone calls and video chats rather than visits. If you are safely able to—or must--go outside, stay at least six feet away from others. By practicing this kind of physical distancing, you can help prevent the spread of the virus to yourself and to others. And if you live in a place where physical distancing is not possible, do your best to follow some of the guidance above: avoid touching your face, cough into your elbow, and minimize physical contact with others as much as possible.
Bill Gates is feeling optimistic that, with all the work being done to develop COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, there is an end to the pandemic in sight. Unfortunately, that end is still at least a year away, he told Wired's Steven Levy. "The innovation pipeline on scaling up diagnostics, on new therapeutics, on vaccines is actually quite impressive. And that makes me feel like, for the rich world, we should largely be able to end this thing by the end of 2021, and for the world at large by the end of 2022," Gates said. Gates says that he fears that in nations like Russia and China, the pressure to have a vaccine is so high that regulators may be allowing shots to be given to humans before the vaccines are known to be safe and effective. But the US FDA is not allowing such short-cuts, he said.
"We probably need three or four months — no matter what — of phase 3 data, just to look for side effects," Gates said. "The FDA, to their credit, at least so far, is sticking to requiring proof of efficacy." Last month, Gates told Business Insider's Hilary Brueck that he's confident that scientists will develop a vaccine that's "very effective and very safe" in part because there are so many vaccines currently in development: more than 160 worldwide. Two of the four speediest trials that are testing vaccines in humans right now are US-based, too: Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. Gates also told Brueck if the best vaccines are not shared worldwide, that COVID-19 will "just keep coming back." In the meantime, Gates predicts we're in for a rough fall and winter with the virus, even though this virus does not appear to be seasonal. "The fall could be tough," he told Brueck. "We'll be indoors more. It will be colder. We know those are things that push the disease up."
Philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates offers insights into the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing why testing and self-isolation are essential, which medical advancements show promise, and what it will take for the world to endure this crisis (Recorded March 24, 2020)
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