Noting that the risks of COVID-19 had been ‘dramatically reduced’, Mr Gates warned that it was almost certain the world would see another pandemic, which required collaboration between vaccine manufacturers.
Noting that the risks of COVID-19 had been ‘dramatically reduced’, Mr Gates warned that it was almost certain the world would see another pandemic, which required collaboration between vaccine manufacturers.
Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has praised India for its vaccine-making prowess and lauded the country’s manufacturers’ efforts to supply affordable vaccines around the world.
Addressing a virtual roundtable on India-US health partnership organized by the Indian Embassy on Tuesday, Mr Gates said that in the past one year, India has distributed more than 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to nearly 100 countries. .
“At the same time, thanks to Indian vaccine manufacturers, almost every country in the world is now providing vaccines to protect children against diseases such as pneumonia and rotavirus, which have been the leading cause of death in children for decades,” Mr. Gates said. .
The round table conference was organized to bring together key stakeholders in India and the US to leverage the bilateral partnership to provide affordable vaccines to the world.
“While this pandemic is not over yet, we have begun to look beyond emergency response. This not only means controlling COVID, but preventing future outbreaks before they become pandemics and being prepared to fight all infectious diseases,” he explained.
In his remarks, Mr Gates said Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about deepening India’s commitment to global health while continuing to harness the country’s science and technology talent to advance scientific discovery and manufacture of new products. Is.
“It is a shared ambition and partnerships are central to making this a reality,” he said.
Mr Gates said the three vaccines – Covaxin, CorbaVex and Covishield – were products of a partnership that spanned bridge areas as well as borders.
Referring to the grouping of four countries, the US, India, Australia, he said, “The Quad Country partnership with BioE to produce more than a billion vaccines is an example of how these partnerships should elicit a similar response.” can be extended to support.” and Japan.
Noting that the risks of COVID-19 had been ‘dramatically reduced’, Mr Gates warned that it was almost certain that the world would see another pandemic, for which collaboration between vaccine manufacturers was the need of the hour. “This is what makes initiatives like the Developing Country Vaccine Manufacturers’ Network so exciting. Everyone involved understands that if we want to make COVID-19 the ultimate pandemic, we need to invest in collaborative efforts now,” Mr Gates said.
“We can’t predict where the advances to give us better equipment will come from, but we do know that our investment today will determine whether these advances come on time and whether they will reach all of them,” he said. Ready to reach out to those who need them.”
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