Bill Gates had earlier warned that humanity “could be entering the worst part of the pandemic” as the Omicron variant spreads fast across the globe, stressing that Omicron will “hit home for all of us”….reports Asian Lite News
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and British biomedical charity Wellcome have pledged $150 million each in the fight against Covid-19 and to prepare for future pandemics, media reported.
A total of $300 million will go to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global partnership founded five years ago that co-leads Covax, the initiative to distribute Covid vaccines across the developing world, alongside the World Health Organization and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, according to a report from AFP.
British scientist Jeremy Farrar, who is the director of Wellcom said “none of us believe Omicron will be the last variant, or that Covid-19 will be the last pandemic.”
He urged for a “truly global response” and urged the world leaders to step up their contributions.
The announced investment makes up only a small fraction of CEPI’s new five-year action plan, which calls for $3.5 billion.
A conference organized next March in London should help to raise the target sum.
Bill Gates had earlier warned that humanity “could be entering the worst part of the pandemic” as the Omicron variant spreads fast across the globe, stressing that Omicron will “hit home for all of us”.
Gates said that he had cancelled most of his holiday plans as his close friends are increasingly being infected with the Covid-19 virus.
“Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic. Omicron will hit home for all of us. Close friends of mine now have it, and I’ve cancelled most of my holiday plans,” Gates tweeted.