Microsoft founder Bill Gates in recent years has been devoting a lot of time to his charitable foundation, which he founded with his wife Melinda. In March, he left the board of directors for this.
The foundation funds various medical projects, including the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Gates became the hero of conspiracy theories. All over the world there are supporters of the idea that the disease appeared and spread thanks to him.
Bill Gates, in an interview with the BBC Today radio program, said what he thinks about these theories, and also shared his vision of the fight against coronavirus and universal vaccination.
Bill Gates: Our challenge is to raise $ 7.4 billion, and any additional dollar or euro we get will help us save lives. The importance of vaccines is now more evident than ever. But we need vaccines for more than just diseases such as measles, diarrhea and pneumonia. It is also imperative that GAVI [Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation] is dedicated to bringing the coronavirus vaccine to developing countries. We are raising money not only within the GAVI budget, but we have also opened a new fund that will purchase a coronavirus vaccine for poor countries.
BBC: Who Should Get the Vaccine First?
Fortunately, we are going to build several factories in parallel, and we hope that production volumes will be high. But vaccine distribution will be an interesting challenge.
BBC: If a vaccine is developed in the United States or Britain, would the locals want to be given it in the first place?
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BG: We work with all pharmaceutical companies that have sufficient production capacity. We tell them - even if your vaccine is not chosen, can we use your facilities around the world to start producing this vaccine in the fastest way possible? And it's amazing how pharmaceutical companies agree with the words "even if our vaccine is not the best, we will provide our factories."
BBC: First of all, maybe the health workers of the country where the vaccine was invented should be obtained?
BG: If there is one plant that produces 300 million doses per year, then the demand will be very high. There will be strict conditions, including who provided funding and where is the worst situation with the epidemic.
BBC: WHO wants companies to publicize their patents and provide open access to any information about the vaccine. But there are those who say that licensing is enough, and let the creator keep the intellectual rights. Whom do you support?
BG: Intellectual rights are meaningless. A vaccine is required that has passed clinical trials for safety and efficacy. These companies are doing this to help the world. They don't do it with the thought that they will be able to benefit from the vaccine. They know it is necessary for everyone. And no matter what conspiracy theories people come up with, the pharmaceutical industry is showing its best in this. For example, the AstraZeneca company.
The same can be said for all companies, but I'll take her as an example. We advised [the University of Oxford scientists] to work with a pharmaceutical company because you are great specialists, you work fast, but in terms of clinical trials and working with manufacturers, you need a pharmaceutical company and they chose AstraZeneca. The combination of their abilities was incredible.
Our foundation works with AstraZeneca and we ask them what is the plan for India, what is the plan for China. So if the vaccine is successful, as we hope, then there is already a global plan for mass production for that case. AstraZeneca said it is not going to cash in on it. She just wants to help the world.
BBC: Let's talk about the conspiracy theories that have flooded the Internet. Some of them also mention you, suggesting that you want to take over the world through computer chips that people will receive through vaccinations. Do you think all this can be harmful?
BG: If you look at all these gossip and anti-scientific statements that exist, then yes - this leads to inciting hostility between people. The worry is that digital tools are being used for all this craziness at a time like this. When we eventually have a vaccine, we will need to achieve group immunity so that about 80% of the population is vaccinated. But if they think that this is a scam, or that vaccines are harmful, and people do not want to be vaccinated, then the disease will continue to kill people.
It just so happens that we have many pharmacologists in our foundation, and we are considered an honest broker between government and companies when it comes to choosing the best method.
BBC: This is probably partly due to your words when you said that you need to know who was vaccinated and who did not, and how it will be tracked.
BG: Yes, if we talk about smallpox vaccine, it left a scar because it is very powerful, and you could see people in the crowd with this vaccine. And in order to completely get rid of the disease, it was necessary that everyone was vaccinated. Therefore, we can say that a miracle happened, since in 1980 this disease was declared defeated. So if we talk about voluntary registration, then yes, we are thinking about how to protect children from illness, but this does not imply any kind of chips or something like that. Sometimes you want to laugh [because of some theories].
BBC: How do we know who was vaccinated and who did not?
BG: In rich countries, information is documented, and in poor countries, data is recorded in paper documents. They are gradually going digital, but not fast enough. In India, we run test programs where data is stored on mobile phones so that specialists can understand if a particular village has been covered.
