
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has appealed since 2015 that humanity should prepare for the pandemic, following war and nuclear weapons. As he predicted, COVID-19 is prevalent around the world in 2020. How does Bill Gates view this situation?
He replied that he was sorry when asked if people were listening to your warning in 2015, but the answer was no. Some organizations replied that although progress was made in terms of vaccines, they did not carry out what was mentioned in the lecture on what to do in the fight against diseases in terms of diagnosis, antibodies, and antiviral drugs.
Smallpox has killed 30% of its patients, but most people with COVID-19 can survive. It means that Corona 19 is more infectious than SARS or MERS and is not fatal. The Corona 19 epidemic is unprecedented, but if it can be suppressed well, many people can be saved from death. Bill Gates also noted the potential for a more lethal respiratory virus.
In a lecture in 2015, a simulation showed how the Spanish flu and the 1918 influenza virus spread, but 2020 is much more fluid than 1918. This is what caused the infection to spread, but on the other hand, medical systems for treating humans are also evolving.
Bill Gates says the first thing we need to discuss is the prosecutor. At this stage, in many areas, the situation continues to be untested and the person in need cannot be identified. Health care workers know they need this test, but they can’t do it. He stresses that it is of utmost importance to be able to get tested. Isolation afterwards. Isolation has an unbearable economic blow to people. However, the sooner the time to quarantine, the sooner the time to return to daily life will come.
Bill Gates says home-use PCR test kits are being developed, which can reduce the burden of medical institutions. Researchers send the test kit data to the FDA, the US Food and Drug Administration, which has not yet reached practical use, but hopefully the patient sends a swab and the test results will reach the patient within 24 hours.
It is still unclear whether this test method will be performed through a medical institution or will be provided through a courier service such as Amazon. However, it seems that in Bill Gates’ mind, he creates a website and paints an image led by the US government or local government.
On the other hand, if it is true by expanding the test, there is a possibility that people who need to be quarantined will be collected in one place. In response, Bill Gates believes that it is a guide to judge that he should be quarantined after being examined. In Corona 19, where there are many asymptomatic patients, people with mild symptoms tend to think that it is okay to be active. However, if the test is positive, the awareness that you should be quarantined comes out. Therefore, it is said that the two things should be done together, expanding the test and performing the test in a way that is not crowded.
Also, many people are paying attention to what can be achieved through isolation strategies. The impact on the economy is inseparable when everyone stays at home and does their daily work over months. Although it may be a mistake in quarantine strategies implemented by many countries, Bill Gates has a strategy to overcome this with collective immunity, but the mortality rate is low because collective immunity is meaningless until more than half of the population is infected and puts a load on the healthcare system. He pointed out that this is an irresponsible idea, saying it is rising to 34% instead of 1%. He said that what was needed was an extreme shutdown, and hopefully you could get back to normal for 6-10 weeks. In Europe, when 1% of the population is ill, many people do not take the situation seriously, whereas in Korea, the situation was taken seriously and tested early, so it did not lead to extreme containment.
When asked what he would do if he were president, Bill Gates made it clear that there was no other way than a containment strategy. Also, it should last for a certain period of time. In the case of China, it is about 6 weeks. He pointed out that people should be prepared for this, and if quarantine is done well, the figures actually change within 20 days. The impact on the economy is immeasurable, but he says recovering the economy is easier than reviving the dead.
Also, functioning in rich countries does not work well in developing countries. Economically difficult people have no choice but to work to live and have difficulty maintaining social distancing. In such countries, it is compelling to rely on the development of vaccines and drugs. Even when considering the need for a ventilator, 5% of infected people say that it is essential that affluent countries provide funding and vaccines and medical supplies to minimize damage to developing countries.
Although countries sometimes criticize each other for the Corona 19 epidemic, Bill Gates pointed out that now there are signs of both cooperation and hostilities, and that the recovered country should help other countries and avoid prejudice. Also, about the fact that the corona19 epidemic is hardly seen in the southern hemispheres such as Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia, Bill Gates said it was not known whether the infectivity was low or if it was not shown in the test results. Whether COVID-19 is seasonal or not will be revealed in the coming months, but this may be good news for the northern hemisphere, but bad news for the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere you can make time until the next season, but for several months the southern hemisphere enters winter. There are fewer elderly people in the southern hemisphere, but many are HIV-positive and some have lung problems from indoor smoking. There may be a viral mutation.
Finally, Bill Gates said five years ago that the pandemic was an unprepared threat. He said that we have science now, and how to prepare for the next pandemic is clear. It will cost tens of billions of dollars. Expressed the view that it is possible. Related information can be found here .
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