Billionaire, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that in the future the world can expect new pandemics, which will be more dangerous than COVID-19, and urged to prepare for them.
He urged governments to prepare for the next pandemic in advance by investing in innovative projects.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with the British Welcome Trust, will donate $300 million to the Coalition for Innovation in Pandemic Preparedness (CEPI). The money will be used to create a project that will minimize the time it takes to develop vaccines against potential new viruses (up to 100 days). and the cost of the project will be $3.5 billion.
"Although the omicron and delta strains of coronavirus were among the most transmissible viruses ever seen, the world may have to face a pathogen that will lead to much higher rates of death and more severe disease in the future,"
-stated Gates.
He added that innovations aimed at preparing for a future pandemic could also be useful for solving existing global health problems. For example, they can be used to create vaccines against HIV and more effective drugs against tuberculosis and malaria.
