On Saturday, Microsoft founder and ex-CEO Bill Gates said that whenever the vaccine for COVID-19 is attained, it should go wherever it’s needed instead of being restricted to the highest bidder.

“If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder, instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, we’ll have a longer, more unjust, deadlier pandemic. We need leaders to make these hard decisions about distributing based on equity, not just on market-driven factors”

Microsoft’s co-founder, Bill Gates played a huge role in transforming society by escorting in the ubiquitous personal computing era. The Bill Gates biography examines the achievements and life of this great American philanthropist and inventor. 

On 6th July WHO had announced that currently, 21 candidate vaccines are on trial and that many volunteers are currently being tested on. Several public health specialists have noticed the pattern and have warned against “vaccine nationalism” that would restrict it to limited nations. This would be highly problematic because it could lead to dire consequences on the global economy as well as the general public health. 

Considering this awful situation and the negligence of people in protecting themselves from the virus using reliable products like face shields even after awareness, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $250 million towards research. Gates wants “to support development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines… and help mitigate the social and economic impacts of the virus.”

As you may know, Gates had stepped down from his position of CEO in 2020 and ever since he’s been dedicating his time in charity and research.