Bill Gates says coronavirus vaccine may take at least 9 months

Bill Gates, the principal founder of Microsoft Corporation, said that the vaccine development to prevent coronavirus could take nine months to two years. In his GatesNotes blog, the business magnate said that the world will return normalcy only when we have the near-perfect drug to treat COVID-19, or when almost every person on the planet gets vaccinated against coronavirus.

Gates admitted that near-perfect drug to cure COVID-19 is unlikely to happen anytime soon and most of the drug candidates right now are nowhere near that powerful. The 64-year-old business tycoon said that the world needs a safe and effective vaccine, and that too with billions of doses, to return to normalcy. 

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Gates also referred to the prediction of Dr Anthony Fauci, top infectious disease expert of the US, who has said that it will take around 18 months to develop a vaccine. Referring to Dr Fauci’s prediction, Gates said that eighteen months might sound like a long time but this would be the fastest scientists have created a new vaccine. 

“Development usually takes around five years. Once you pick a disease to target, you have to create the vaccine and test it on animals. Then you begin testing for safety and efficacy in humans,” wrote Gates.

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'Doing the right things'

Highlighting the importance of safety and efficacy, Gates said that some minor side effects can be acceptable but the health agencies can not inoculate people with something that makes them sick. He added that one ideally wants a vaccine to have 100 per cent efficacy but many vaccines including this year’s flu vaccine are around 45 per cent effective.

“It might be a bit hard to see right now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re doing the right things to get a vaccine as quickly as possible,” he concluded.

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(Image: AP)