Bill Gates: "Millions More Will Die from COVID-19, Pandemic to End by Late Next Year"

Microsoft (MS) founder Bill Gates. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft (MS), has predicted that millions more people will die due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that it will only end by the end of next year.

On the 18th (local time), in an interview released by the British weekly magazine The Economist, Bill Gates forecasted that by the end of 2021, an effective COVID-19 vaccine will be mass-produced, and a significant portion of the global population will be able to prevent the epidemic through vaccination.

He particularly anticipated that most deaths, especially in developing countries, will result not directly from the virus infection itself but from indirect causes such as weakened healthcare systems and economic factors.

Having warned about a pandemic even before the outbreak of COVID-19, Bill Gates has been pushing for large-scale economic support, emphasizing the need to focus on damage recovery in developing countries vulnerable to infectious diseases.

According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDCP), as of the 17th, Africa’s cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases have exceeded 1 million, with deaths reaching approximately 25,000.

Bill Gates predicted that indirect deaths caused by the chain reaction of the COVID-19 crisis in these regions will account for 90% of the total causes of death.

When lockdowns are imposed due to COVID-19, immunity to other deadly diseases and access to medicines decline, which leads to an increase in deaths from malaria and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Additionally, Bill Gates urged wealthy countries to purchase vaccines for impoverished nations. He explained that such measures ultimately prevent poor countries from becoming new epicenters of COVID-19 and are a way to stop the pandemic.

Bill Gates further elaborated that if wealthy countries set prices high enough to cover the fixed costs required for vaccine production and purchase them, vaccines can be distributed relatively cheaply in poor countries.

Among these points, he emphasized the role of the United States, which has led global public health efforts, while criticizing the deadlock in the U.S. COVID-19 response measures.

He also stressed the importance of civic awareness. Referring to a poll earlier this month where one in three Americans responded that they would not get vaccinated against COVID-19, Bill Gates said citizens must actively participate in vaccination.

However, he claimed that there are positive research results showing that vaccines related to previously prevalent coronaviruses and other diseases are partially effective against COVID-19, and that if 30-60% of the entire population forms antibodies, the pandemic can be stopped.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.