July 23, 2020
Bill Gates warns multiple coronavirus vaccine doses likely to be needed and schools should stay closed for another YEAR
by Henry Holloway
the-sun.com
BILL Gates has warned that multiple doses of any coronavirus vaccine could be necessary as he slammed Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic.
Microsoft billionaire Gates said "serious mistakes" have been made by the White House as he predicted schools could be closed until fall 2021.
Bill Gates warned vaccines could take multiple doses
Speaking during an interview with Norah O'Donnell on CBS News, Gates said he had faith in the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
However, he warned it could take an "unbelievably big number" of doses to beat the virus.
He said: "None of the vaccines at this point appear like they'll work with a single dose.
"That was the hope at the very beginning."
However, he said the solution will "improve over time" even though there will be "a lot of uncertainty" about the vaccine.
The philanthropist - who is worth $98billion, the second-richest man in the world - has offered £300million to help fund research into the vaccine.
Gates also described the closures of schools as the "biggest cost" of the pandemic after deaths as he said classes likely won't be all back until fall 2021.
He said: "This next academic year does hang in the balance. It is extremely important."
More should be done to help schools take learning online to ensure kids get their educations, he said.
The 64-year-old tech boss now spends most of his times working with the Global Health division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He had been warning of the threat posed to humanity by pandemics since 2015 before the coronavirus outbreak.
During the interview, Gates was also heavily critical of the Trump administration - with the US having the highest death and case count in the world with 146,192 and 4.1 million.
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Gates said: "Some of the policies were a mistake. Opening up bars - the economic benefit versus the infection risk - a lot of policies like that made it a mistake."
The Microsoft mogul emphasized that social distancing, wearing masks and developing a vaccine are now key in beating Covid-19.
He conceded however some of the "serious mistakes" were made because of a lacking of understanding of the virus.
Gates said Europe responded better to the pandemic than the US - with its leaders "communicating with a clear voice".
And he also condemned reports that Trump is silencing experts like Dr Anthony Fauci.
He said gagging experts was "holding us back" and said you could "never have predicted" the butting of heads between scientists and the White House.
Dr Fauci has been feuding with Trump, with anonymous officials even briefing against him by releasing a list of his mistakes over Covid-19.
Donald Trump has talked up his response to the coronavirus pandemic
President Trump insisted that the US has the best mortality rate in the world during a briefing at the White House this week.
Gates however said Trump's claim was "not even close" - adding "by almost every measure, the US is one of the worst".
He added: "We actually had criteria for opening up with cases declining, and we opened up with cases increasing."
The Microsoft boss also rubbished baseless conspiracy theories linking him to the virus - with claims microchips are going to be implanted in vaccines.
He said: "No, there is no connection between any of these vaccines and any tracking type thing. I have no idea where this come through."
Gates called for a better dialogue to "get the truth out there", and said "I hope this will die down as people get the facts".
"We need to explain our values, and why we are willing to put millions towards accelerating the progress," he said.
Asked whether Facebook should do more to remove the conspiracy theories, he said: "They are willing to take down anti-vaxxer posts. But you don't want to suppress normal dialogue."
http://www.the-sun.com/news/1184945/bill-gates-vaccines-schools-closed-donald-trump/
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