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1/ Impressive to see the @gatesfoundation mobilize quickly against Coronavirus. Bill's 2015 TED talk about this seems especially prescient now.
2/ Jan 26: the Foundation commits $10m to help China and Africa frontline response teams "implement the screening and treatment of suspected cases, laboratory confirmation of 2019-nCoV diagnoses and the safe isolation and care of identified cases." https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/01/Gates-Foundation-Commits-10-Million-to-Global-Response-to-2019-nCOV
3/ Feb 5: the Foundation ups its commitment to $100m, expands to aid Southeast Asia, and focuses most funds on "the discovery, development and testing of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for 2019-nCoV." https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/02/Bill-and-Melinda-Gates-Foundation-Dedicates-Additional-Funding-to-the-Novel-Coronavirus-Response
4/ Mar 4: virus hits Seattle, Foundation commits $5m to help Seattle public agencies with detection and containment. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/03/Gates-Foundation-Commits-5-Million-to-Help-Public-Health-Agencies-in-Greater-Seattle-Region
5/ Mar 8: Gates Foundation based coronavirus home testing kits on their way.
“One of the most important things, having watched and worked on this in other parts of the world, is the identification of people who are positive for the virus." https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/gates-funded-program-will-soon-offer-home-testing-kits-for-new-coronavirus/
“One of the most important things, having watched and worked on this in other parts of the world, is the identification of people who are positive for the virus." https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/gates-funded-program-will-soon-offer-home-testing-kits-for-new-coronavirus/
6/ Mar 10: Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and Mastercard contribute $125m to set up the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. The goal is "accelerating and evaluating new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat patients with COVID-19." https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/03/COVID-19-Therapeutics-Accelerator
7/ Mar 11: Gates Foundation is working with Amazon Care to provide logistics around delivering at-home testing kits.
"The goal is to process thousands of tests per day, and ideally keep sick people out of doctor’s offices where they could expose others." https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/amazon-care-gates-foundation-may-deliver-coronavirus-tests-in-seattle.html
"The goal is to process thousands of tests per day, and ideally keep sick people out of doctor’s offices where they could expose others." https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/amazon-care-gates-foundation-may-deliver-coronavirus-tests-in-seattle.html
8/ Mar 23: Amazon Care and Gates Foundation begin to pick up and deliver coronavirus tests as part of SCAN - the newly launched Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/amazon-delivers-coronavirus-test-kits-for-scan-a-gates-backed-effort.html
9/ Apr 2: Gates funds 7 vaccine factories now.
"Even though we'll end up picking at most two of them, we're going to fund factories for all seven just so we don't waste time in serially saying 'ok which vaccine works' and then building the factory." https://mashable.com/video/trevor-noah-bill-gates-coronavirus/
"Even though we'll end up picking at most two of them, we're going to fund factories for all seven just so we don't waste time in serially saying 'ok which vaccine works' and then building the factory." https://mashable.com/video/trevor-noah-bill-gates-coronavirus/
10/ Apr 6: Gates Foundation-funded Inovio Pharmaceuticals begins an experimental trial for its vaccine candidate with 40 healthy adults. In parallel, Inovio is already scaling up production and aiming to have 1 million doses available by the end of 2020. https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/a-potential-coronavirus-vaccine-funded-by-bill-gates-is-set-to-begin-testing-in-people-with-the-first-patient-expected-to-get-it-today/ar-BB12e01f
11/ Apr 15: Gates Foundation commits another $150m in funding for therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines for the developing world.
“It is increasingly clear that the world’s response to this pandemic will not be effective unless it is also equitable” https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/04/Gates-Foundation-Expands-Commitment-to-COVID-19-Response-Calls-for-International-Collaboration
“It is increasingly clear that the world’s response to this pandemic will not be effective unless it is also equitable” https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/04/Gates-Foundation-Expands-Commitment-to-COVID-19-Response-Calls-for-International-Collaboration
12/ Apr 25: Gates Foundation switches entire focus to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This emergency has distracted a lot of critical work in many, many areas.” https://www.ft.com/content/f4557f2c-2464-46bd-a844-d08cadc3da59
“This emergency has distracted a lot of critical work in many, many areas.” https://www.ft.com/content/f4557f2c-2464-46bd-a844-d08cadc3da59
13/ May 11: "Looking back, I wish I had done more. I feel terrible. The whole point of talking about it was that we could take action and minimize the damage.”
So far, the Gates Foundation has committed $305 million to fight COVID. https://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-coronavirus-vaccine-covid-19-11589207803?shareToken=st82e51d36928b4c159f73f4aacbb5cfad
So far, the Gates Foundation has committed $305 million to fight COVID. https://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-coronavirus-vaccine-covid-19-11589207803?shareToken=st82e51d36928b4c159f73f4aacbb5cfad
14/ May 15: the Trump Administration orders the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network program to stop.
The FDA's position is described as "downright absurd." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/us/coronavirus-testing-seattle-bill-gates.html?smid=tw-share
The FDA's position is described as "downright absurd." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/us/coronavirus-testing-seattle-bill-gates.html?smid=tw-share
15/ May 18: Boston-based Moderna announces it has been cleared to go into Phase 2 studies for a COVID vaccine.
Moderna got a $100m grant in January 2016 from the Gates Foundation to pursue mRNA based vaccines. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/health/coronavirus-vaccine-moderna.html
Moderna got a $100m grant in January 2016 from the Gates Foundation to pursue mRNA based vaccines. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/health/coronavirus-vaccine-moderna.html
16/ Jun 4: the Gates Foundation commits another $1.6 billion to GAVI, which it helped start in 2000, to provide access to vaccines in developing countries.
“If we didn’t already have Gavi, we would have to create it just to solve this crisis.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/04/bill-gates-backed-vaccine-alliance-looks-to-raise-7point4-billion.html
“If we didn’t already have Gavi, we would have to create it just to solve this crisis.” https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/04/bill-gates-backed-vaccine-alliance-looks-to-raise-7point4-billion.html
17/ July 15: Melinda Gates breaks non-partisan stance:
“We know right now, our only tools are testing, contact tracing, quarantine and masks. Any leader that’s not using the tools and the data available, the populace needs to speak out against.” https://www.ft.com/content/8af908e5-dd31-499e-afcc-6cc6c8ad811b
“We know right now, our only tools are testing, contact tracing, quarantine and masks. Any leader that’s not using the tools and the data available, the populace needs to speak out against.” https://www.ft.com/content/8af908e5-dd31-499e-afcc-6cc6c8ad811b
18/ Aug 7: "the innovation pipeline on new therapeutics, on vaccines is quite impressive. And that makes me feel like, for the rich world, we should largely be able to end this thing by the end of 2021, and for the world at large by the end of 2022." https://www.wired.com/story/bill-gates-on-covid-most-us-tests-are-completely-garbage/
19/ Aug 18: "We all need to spend billions to get the vaccine out to save the trillions that the economic damage is doing" https://www.economist.com/international/2020/08/18/the-covid-19-pandemic-will-be-over-by-the-end-of-2021-says-bill-gates
