Bill Gates Says Omicron Could be the Worst Part of the Pandemic

According to a CNN report, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. were on the rise with the country seeing an average of 148,000 cases a day in the last week, a number 23 percent higher than the week earlier. Close to 70,000 people were in hospitals due to the disease that also claimed an average of 1,324 lives a day in the last week. 

In the meantime, we all have to look out for each other, especially the most vulnerable, whether they live down the street or in another country. That means wearing masks, avoiding big indoor gatherings, and getting vaccinated. Getting a booster gives the best protection.

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021

Gates also reiterated that the vaccines were designed to prevent people from getting seriously ill and dying from the disease, something they were doing well. Infections in people who are vaccinated were on the rise and although concerning, Gates attributed this to two factors, one how many people were vaccinated and also how quickly the variant was spreading. 

Gates also sought relief in the rapid spread of the variant that has already become dominant among infections in the U.S.

If there’s good news here, it’s that omicron moves so quickly that once it becomes dominant in a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months. Those few months could be bad, but I still believe if we take the right steps, the pandemic can be over in 2022.

— Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 21, 2021

In a previous piece for CNN, Gates had called COVID-19 a largely preventable disease but one that continued to spread as the world's richer countries were buying up vaccine shots for booster doses.