Not herd-immunity; vaccine critical for ending pandemic, says Bill Gates
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that a vaccine for COVID-19 is critical and the herd immunity strategy cannot end the pandemic. Gates, who is the co-chair of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), also mentioned that India's pharmaceutical industry will play a major role in the large-scale production of the vaccine, according to Hindustan Times. Here are more details.
Gates highlights two issues with herd immunity
Gates highlighted two issues with relying on the herd immunity strategy. To achieve herd immunity, many more would need to get sick, which would mean millions of deaths, Gates said. Secondly, herd immunity is always temporary, he added. Since children will be born without immunity to the virus, it will eventually start spreading again. "For both reasons, a vaccine is critical," he said.
How long could a vaccine protect against virus?
Gates said it is too soon to answer how long a vaccine's protection would last adding, "We don't have enough data on the duration of antibody and T-cell response to the disease itself, let alone to the various vaccine candidates." He said vaccines currently under development use different mechanisms, which offers a greater possibility of finding an effective vaccine.
India's pharma industry to play 'major role' in ending pandemic
Further, Gates said India's pharmaceutical industry and vaccine producers will play a "major role" in ending the pandemic. He said India has the potential to "manufacture high-quality vaccines at scale for affordable prices," citing the example of the Serum Institute of India. The institute manufactures more vaccines than any other company, Gates said, and it has agreed to price its vaccines at around $3/dose.
Our foundation recently announced funding to Serum Institute: Gates
Gates said, "Our foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, recently announced funding to the Serum Institute to help it ramp up manufacturing capacity so it can produce up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for low and middle-income countries in 2021."
Gates expresses confidence in efforts to ensure equitable vaccine access
With many countries entering billion-dollar deals to pre-order millions of doses of vaccines, there is speculation that the vaccine may not reach low and middle-income countries in time. Gates assured that the Gavi vaccine alliance has 20 years' experience in helping low-income countries with immunization. It is also one of the partners for the COVAX initiative, which aims to ensure equitable access to vaccines.
'Will raise money to ensure vaccines don't go to highest-bidders'
"So far, about 80 countries have made commitments to the COVAX Facility, so momentum is building. In the next month, one of our priorities is to help raise the money that's needed to ensure that vaccines don't just go to the highest bidder," he added.
Hard to overstate role of data: Gates
Gates said it would be "hard to overstate the importance of data." He said while we are waiting on vaccines and treatments, the focus is on understanding "with precision" how the disease is spreading. He said, "When new treatments and vaccines become available, data will be critical in helping the world determine how those new tools are changing the patterns of disease."
'Every country will benefit when we work together'
Gates said, "The root cause of everything that's happening is a virus that doesn't recognize borders. Borders matter less and less to the global economy, too." He added, "While policies that stop at borders may help citizens of a given country cope with the symptoms of the crisis, they won't stop it. Every country will benefit when all countries work together on solutions."
Is the world prepared to combat a pandemic?
Gates had said after the H1N1 outbreak that the world is not prepared for the next pandemic. When asked about global preparedness now, he said, "We know a lot more now about what it will take to be fully prepared." "We've seen examples of partners working in new ways that will help keep the next pandemic from doing as much damage as this one."
Over 29 million sick worldwide; US worst-hit
Globally, the virus has infected over 29 million, including 0.9 million deaths. The United States is the worst-hit country with 6.5 million cases and 1.9 lakh deaths. Speaking to STAT, Gates criticized America's handling of the crisis saying, "You know, this has been a mismanaged situation every step of the way." India is the second worst-hit with 4.9 million cases and 80,776 deaths.
