The Claim:
One self-described pundit found this video of Bill Gates admitting that COVID-19 is not a big deal at all.
The Facts:
When viewing this cherry-picked portion of the video in its broader context, we discover that Bill Gates is discussing with Fareed Zakaria the importance of building better global health cooperation before the next pandemic. Gates goes out of his way to explain that February 2020 was a scary time because the Chinese government had been uncooperative enough that the virus was most certainly already circulating in the United States.
We did get lucky that the mortality rate for COVID-19 wasn’t higher, as the video goes on to point out. Smallpox, for example, had a 30% mortality rate. To potentially lose 30% of our population would be catastrophic, as any fan of dystopian fiction will tell you.
As it stands, this “lower” mortality rate meant that 1.1 million people in the United States died, and 75% of them were over 65 years old. Vaccination status played a clear role in preventing many deaths. The deaths in the U.S. were significant enough that they may have changed the outcome of the most recent mid-term election.
Gates’ real point stands: let’s get our ducks in a row before the next pandemic hits.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved too since this was originally posted. Be sure to check out our most recent posts and browse the latest Just the Facts Topics for the latest.
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