Pictured: Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates

Netease Technology News, August 15 news, according to foreign media reports, Microsoft co-founder and great philanthropist Bill Gates (Bill Gates) recently accepted an exclusive interview to talk about the timing of new crown virus vaccine vaccination, antiviral drugs and 5G conspiracy On other issues. Gates revealed that his foundation has invested 350 million US dollars in anti-epidemic projects and said that the situation will improve next year. The following is a summary of the interview:

Q: How confident are you that we will have an effective vaccine that can be widely distributed by the end of 2020?

Gates: In terms of the effectiveness of the new coronavirus vaccine, the initial vaccine may not be ideal. Its effect may not last long, and it is mainly used in rich countries as a stopgap measure. If there is such a vaccine before the end of the year, I think we will be lucky enough. However, in 2021, other vaccines are likely to be approved. The strongest reaction may come from protein subunits. There are many companies researching it, we can bear quite a lot of failures, and eventually some low-cost and long-acting vaccines will appear.

Question: For many years, people have been saying that if people who oppose vaccination experienced a pandemic like their grandparents, they would have different ideas, right?

Gates: Since 2016, I have been to the White House twice. I was told that I had to listen to someone like Robert Kennedy Jr. who opposed vaccination. It is ironic that despite people questioning the effectiveness of vaccines, we actually have to say: "Oh, my goodness, how can we get out of a tragic pandemic without a vaccine?"

Q: Considering this suspicion, should the new coronavirus vaccination be mandatory?

Gates: Doing things with coercive means is often counterproductive. But you might say that if you want to work in a nursing home or have frequent contact with the elderly, this is necessary.

Q: What do you think of the vaccine research you are supporting, and conspiracy theories such as using 5G radio waves to control people's thinking?

Gates: This is very strange. They accepted the fact that I participated in the vaccination. They just reversed this fact, so many people condemned me not to donate money to save lives, but to make money to get rid of life. If this prevents people from getting vaccinated or viewing the latest data on wearing masks, then this is a big problem.

Q: What about the conversation around hydroxychloroquine (antiviral drug)? The White House has always advocated the use of hydroxychloroquine, even though it has been repeatedly proven to be ineffective. In fact, it can cause recurrence of heart problems in some patients.

Gates: This is a science-led era, but sometimes it doesn't feel like that. In the test tube, hydroxychloroquine looks good. On the other hand, there are a lot of good treatment drugs that have been proven to be effective without serious side effects.

Q: We see that the United States and other countries are sold out even before the vaccine supply is approved. Will this cause problems?

Gates: We need cooperation within and between countries. So far, the United States has not helped poor countries provide procurement funds. We invest more research and development funds than any country, but in terms of factories and procurement, we only care about ourselves. Every call I have with leaders of pharmaceutical companies and leaders of various countries emphasizes: We need everyone to be protected.

Q: What do you think will be the impact of this epidemic in the end?

Gates: Innovations in therapy will begin to reduce mortality, but the real end of the new crown epidemic will come from the spread of natural infections and the herd immunity brought to us by vaccines. For rich countries, the situation will get better sometime next year, and the ideal situation is to end the epidemic in the first half of the year. Overall, we will get rid of this disaster before the end of 2021.

Question: So we will be fine?

Gates: Of course. We should feel lucky, after all, the new coronavirus is not a more deadly disease. (Little)

Source: NetEase Technology Report, translated by Google Translate