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Many have speculated about when the Covid-19 health crisis that has the world in check since 2020 will end. Now, the World Health Organization (WHO) gave an estimated date for the end of the pandemic . However, billionaire Bill Gates proposed what he considers the 'only solution' to end the coronavirus and future pandemics.

María Neira , director of the Department of Public Health, Environment and Climate Change of the WHO , said that the Covid-19 pandemic could be controlled as long as the immunization of countries with low vaccine coverage is achieved. That could happen in March 2022 , according to statements for the Spanish broadcaster RAC1.

“Two years is a period that we set ourselves and it will surely be a reasonable time. If we begin to vaccinate at the speed we have had so far, we could see, even earlier, the way out of this tremendous situation , "said Neira.

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The specialist commented that the low availability of vaccines in some countries is worrying. Neira said that " we all have to get out of the pandemic together", something in which Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , director of the WHO , agrees.

"The shocking inequality in the global distribution of vaccines is a stain on our collective conscience ," said the director of the organization, adding that the challenge is not only to return to normality, but also to learn from the crisis .

"I believe that the end is beginning to be more and more present, but when we come out of the pandemic we must take advantage to be better and not forget these lessons," said Tedros Adhanom.

And the third dose?

On a third dose of the vaccine, the WHO considers that, for now, it is only required by patients whose immune system is compromised . The rest of the people, they point out, can wait until most of the world's population is immunized with at least a first dose.

"The third dose, for now, can be postponed until we have more scientific evidence [that it is necessary] and 40% of the world population can have a first dose," Neira explained.

• Also read: FDA authorizes third dose of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine for high-risk people

Bill Gates has other data and proposes the 'only solution' to the coronavirus

Microsoft's billionaire founder Bill Gates has distinguished himself in recent months by making various predictions around the SARS-CoV-2 virus . He even said that the pandemic would already be under control by March 2021 , something that obviously did not happen.

In a report published last Monday by the Gates Foundation , the tycoon reiterated that "the end has not yet come" and ventured to propose a solution to this pandemic and those to come.

"The only real solution to this problem is to have factories that can produce enough doses of vaccines for everyone in 100 days. It is feasible," Gates said.

In this sense, Gates assures that "the most vulnerable have been the most affected and will probably be the slowest to recover ."

This statement is confirmed by the WHO data, since just last September 14 its director indicated that, of the total vaccines administered worldwide, Africa has only received 2% .

As for economic recovery , the report details that it is "uneven" between and within countries. As a result, 700 million people in low- and middle-income countries are expected to fall into extreme poverty by 2030. In addition, recovery is expected to be much slower in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.

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The damage count and the future perspective

The Gates Foundation report also notes that, as a result of the pandemic, 31 million people have already fallen into extreme poverty for the first time compared to 2019.

Mark Suzman , executive director of the Gates Foundation , said that most rich countries, where there is higher vaccination coverage, could see “this year” a recovery in per capita income to pre-pandemic levels, according to CNBC .

By contrast, two-thirds of developing countries will remain below their 2019 indicators and some of them "will face many more years [of economic crisis] before returning to 2019 levels ."

He also highlighted that the pandemic has slowed progress towards gender equality , since women have been the most affected in the labor and social fields.

"13 million more jobs have been lost worldwide for women than for men ," Suzman said. "Women also bear the brunt of caregiving responsibilities in both rich and poor worlds ."

The report also found that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a significant setback in routine childhood vaccination rates , widened the educational gap between rich and poor nations, and increased inequities in access to health services .

Finally, Bill Gates calls on world leaders to make the necessary investments to develop and manufacture long-term vaccines, as well as to improve public health infrastructure, particularly in low-income countries.

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