Bill Gates believes we may eventually need to produce as many as 14 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally and that we're anywhere from nine months to two years away from making that happen.
In a blog post Thursday, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist outlined what the race for a vaccine could look like, including how long it will take to develop one that's both safe and effective, how it will be produced, and who should get it first.
"We need to manufacture and distribute at least 7 billion doses of the vaccine," Gates said, adding that number could be "14 billion, if it's a multi-dose vaccine." He said the vaccines should be distributed "as soon as the first batch is ready to go."
After healthcare workers, people in low-income countries should be first in line for a vaccine when it's ready since they're more likely to get sick, Gates said. Higher rates of underlying health conditions, poor healthcare systems, and high population densities that make social-distancing measures harder to implement will allow the disease to spread more easily, he said.
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