Bill Gates has said he believes we haven’t experienced the worst of the pandemic and that there is a high chance of more fatal variants developing in the future.
Despite not wanting to be the "voice of doom and gloom,” Mr. Gates said that statistics show the risk of a more virulent strain emerging is now well over 5%.
The Microsoft co-founder told the Financial Times: "We haven't even seen the worst of it.
"We're still at risk of this pandemic generating a variant that would be even more transmissive and even more fatal.”
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He also warned of the urgent need for longer-lasting vaccines that will be able to block infection so that lockdowns don’t become reality once more.
Gates recently wrote a book entitled How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, in which he calls for the formation of a panel of international experts who can actively identify threats in time for a coordinated plan to be put in place.
He says it would be “wild” for global leaders to not take the learnings from this global pandemic and use them to better protect and equip ourselves against a similar outcome should a new variant pose major risks.
"It seems wild to me that we could fail to look at this tragedy and not, on behalf of the citizens of the world, make these investments," he said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation warned that Ireland may see another Covid surge in a matter of weeks, as Dr. David Nabarro says hospitals will face more pressure.
The WHO's special envoy on Covid-19 said hospitals will likely face “a lot of illness” as case numbers begin to increase again.
According to their forecasts, the next wave could be experienced on the Emerald isle in as soon as four to six weeks’ time.
But that is not all their warning of in the latest update - they also believe there will be a surge every three months going forward.
“We’ve actually been going down in terms of numbers around the world for the last four to six weeks,” Dr. Nabarro said.
“I think it will pick up again in about another four to six weeks and there’ll be another surge.
“There will be a surge in Ireland as well as in the British isles, and that may lead to quite a lot of illness in hospitals again.”
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