Next four to six months could be worst of pandemic : Bill Gates

Bill Gates warns

New Delhi – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose foundation has been part of the effort to develop and deliver COVID-19 vaccines, warned on Sunday that the next four to six months could be the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The United States has reported about 15.6 million cases and 292,642 deaths as of Thursday. Deaths are projected to reach 502,000 by April 1, according to an influential model by (IHME)." https://t.co/swun39ynpg

— Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) (@IHME_UW) December 14, 2020

“Sadly, the next four to six months could be the worst of the pandemic. The IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) forecast shows over 200,000 additional deaths. If we would follow the rules, in terms of wearing masks and not mixing, we could avoid a large percentage of those deaths,” Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, told CNN.

Bill Gates warns next 4-6 months could be worst of pandemic despite vaccine progress https://t.co/VEisfuK9Yn

— Republic (@republic) December 13, 2020

In recent weeks, the US is experiencing record high cases, deaths and hospitalisations. “I thought the US would do a better job handling it,” said Gates, who in 2015 had warned the world of such a pandemic.

“Overall, when I did the forecasts in 2015, I talked about the deaths potentially being higher. So, this virus could be more fatal than it is. We didn’t get the worst-case. But the thing that has surprised me is that the economic impact in the US and around the world has been much greater than the forecasts that I made five years ago,” he said.