We can close the vaccine gap faster

How to use vaccines more fairly and effectively.

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October 13, 2021 2:09pm

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We can close the vaccine gap faster

By Bill Gates | October 13, 2021

Many Westerners have been shocked by how much faster COVID-19 vaccines reached people in rich countries than in poor countries. But to many of the leaders I get to talk to around the world—especially those in low- and middle-income countries—the lag time was nothing new. It usually takes years, even decades, for a medical advance to become widely available in the developing world.

This is a problem that our foundation has been working on for years. In my view, the situation with COVID-19 vaccines is unacceptable—just 2 percent of people in low-income countries have received even one dose—and it is also better than virtually any other public-health campaign ever.

What that means is that there is progress, and we can build on progress. In my latest Gates Notes post, I write about how we can learn from the COVID-19 experience and close the gap even faster next time. It’s a complex subject, and the post is long, but writing it helped me clarify my own thinking. I hope you’ll give it a read.

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