Bill Gates: "If COVID-19 Vaccines Are Provided Only to Wealthy Countries, Deaths Will Double"

Widening Wealth Gap Due to COVID-19
Development Gains in Low-Income Countries Fade

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft (MS), confidently stated that a vaccine for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) will be available by next year. However, he expressed concerns about whether the COVID-19 vaccine can be properly supplied to underdeveloped countries.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to CNBC on the 14th (local time), Gates said at a press conference, "The next challenge for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is how to distribute vaccines to the countries that truly need them," adding, "The countries that acquire vaccines should not be wealthy nations that win the vaccine bidding competition."

He predicted, "If vaccines are not properly supplied, it will cause massive additional loss of life."

Wealthy countries such as the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom have already secured 2 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. As a result, vaccine supply will inevitably be limited next year. The international community, including the World Health Organization (WHO), is working to ensure that low-income countries can also obtain COVID-19 vaccines.

According to a report analyzed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned to Northeastern University, if the initially developed 2 billion doses of vaccines are allocated only to wealthy countries, the number of deaths caused by COVID-19 would be twice as high compared to an evenly distributed scenario. Additionally, COVID-19 is expected to cause greater harm to racial minorities and women.

Gates observed that the gap between developed and developing countries has already widened due to the impact of COVID-19. He said, "From various perspectives, the gap has widened," and noted, "Low-income countries are suffering more due to financial constraints." Furthermore, he pointed out that many developing country citizens do not have jobs that allow remote work, which is another vulnerability.

According to this report, the proportion of the population living on less than $2 a day decreased from 37% worldwide over the past 30 years to 7%, but within just a few months, 37 million people have been newly pushed into living on less than $2 a day. The report stated, "The longer COVID-19 persists, the greater the economic hardship will become."

The number of children receiving vaccines recommended by WHO has also sharply declined. Last year, this rate was 84% of children worldwide, but this year it dropped to 70%, a level not seen in 25 years. The crisis caused by COVID-19...

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