Gates’ sound advice

Mr. Bill Gates, the co-chair and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has recently opined that “The world is on the brink of a scientific achievement: A safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine will likely be ready by early next year. In fact, there will probably be more than one vaccine available.”

This is fantastic news, coming from a person who knows what he is talking. However, he has cautioned that “Elimination will not happen by itself. To achieve this goal, the world first needs three things: the capacity to produce billions of vaccine doses, the funding to pay for them, and systems to deliver them.”

Countries across the world should take these words of wisdom seriously. Rich nations, where the vaccine is more likely to be discovered and manufactured will naturally give priority to look after their own citizens. Developing nations, which have vaccine manufacturing facilities and also have subsidiaries of various pharmaceutical companies, should start entering into contracts right now, so as to ensure they too have the vaccines immediately after approval.

The vaccines cleared for deployment, should be absolutely safe. Every country is competing to discover and sell its vaccines. This is not the time to be first or to be heroes. This is the time to be absolutely safe. COVID-19 has killed a million people. Enough. We cannot afford any risky vaccines.

Countries should slash their defence budgets if need be, but provide adequate monies to source vaccines for all their citizens. Wars and battles can wait. Let’s save human lives first. The distribution of vaccines in large countries like India, China, Nigeria, will be a challenge, especially in the rural areas. Bill Gates gives an example of the polio vaccination drive in India, when the vaccine was carried in ice boxes, by workers on their heads, to the villages of India. Fortunately there has been progress since then and vans with freezer facilities can now transport and disseminate the vaccine in the villages, when it becomes available.

Rajendra Aneja — Mumbai, India