The founder of Microsoft spoke about the novel treatment of the coronavirus that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, underwent, and predicted the date on which he believes it will be possible to return to normality.
Bill Gates spoke about the new treatment that the president of the United States, Donald Trump , underwent to face the coronavirus that consisted of monoclonal antibodies , antivirals and dexamethasone.
The treatment in question has shown promise in patients in the early stage of the disease. “The reduction in the death rate could be quite high and there will be a large volume by the end of the year, at least in rich countries,” Gates said.
According to Science magazine, Trump received a “cocktail of antibodies” that act directly against the protein of the virus that causes COVID-19. One of these antibodies is produced by people who have recovered from a Sars-CoV-2 infection. They are “isolated and copied” by the cell that produces it. The other antibody is from a genetically engineered mouse.
This medicine is injected into a vein and has the potential to work soon after a person is infected, but only if they are mildly ill. The expensive therapy also holds promise as a preventive tool, temporarily blocking infection.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is the laboratory that is producing the “antibody cocktail” in question. Preliminary studies indicate that the therapy is effective in patients with mild symptoms , but it is unclear if the cocktail is effective in severe patients. The treatment Trump underwent is in the experimental stage.
Gates predicted when “the closest thing to normal” could return. He assured that when the vaccine is available, perhaps in December, people's lives will return to what it was only towards the end of 2021 .
The founder of Microsoft highlighted the need to convince the population of a mass vaccination , without fear of possible consequences. “In the United States we should already be thinking about which voices will help reduce hesitation. The CDC that normally talks about these things has not yet had as much visibility,” Gates said.
If the data is clear and transparent, “I think there will be enough people interested” in getting vaccinated, Gates added. For the founder of Microsoft, the pandemic could end in the United States by the end of 2021 , although outside North American territory it could take longer , stretching health and financial instability until 2022.
Even with tremendous progress in the race for a vaccine to treat COVID-19, Gates explained that those early developments will likely be “a patch,” providing only short-term immunity.
