Bill Gates Enthusiastic About Promise Of COVID-19 Vaccines

Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates told “TODAY” on Thursday (Dec. 3) that he expects that by June, anyone who wants a coronavirus vaccine will be able to get one.

The Bill Gates Foundation has contributed upwards of $450 million to fight the global coronavirus, and although he told “TODAY” that “the next four or five months look pretty grim,” he is enthusiastic that “we’ll be headed back to normal” by spring.

Gates said vaccine distribution is “going to be tricky” because “the federal government has abdicated some of its responsibilities in a public health crisis.”

So far, one vaccine has been approved in the U.K., and Gates is confident that the U.S. will be close behind in granting approvals. He also said he would step up and take the vaccine as soon as it is his turn.

Gates also commended that there has been “great cooperation” across all countries. “It’s a war and we are in it together,” he noted.

In The Great Reopening report, PYMNTS reported that some 48 percent of consumers want a vaccine to be in place before they will resume normal activities, even though 68 percent are eager to resume dining out at restaurants.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said during testimony before the Senate banking committee that “restaurants are in need of significant grants (not loans).”