Microsoft founder Bill Gates has written a has written a new book, about the lessons of COVID-19 and how to apply them to avoid a future disaster. How to Prevent the Next Pandemic will be published in the UK, India, Australia and South Africa by Allen Lane on 3 May 2022. Fellow Penguin Random House imprint Knopf will publish the title in the US at the same time.
PRH UK says: ‘Before Gates tackled the urgent topic of climate science, he was a preeminent voice alerting the public to the threat of a future pandemic. He warned us in a now-famous 2015 TED Talk (which has been viewed more than 36 million times) that the world was not ready for the next outbreak. In his new book, he argues we can make COVID-19 the last pandemic—if we act now.’
The publisher describes the title as a clear and hopeful plan of what countries, government leaders, and individuals must do to help prevent another pandemic. ‘Grounded in Bill’s first-hand experience with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s response to COVID-19, the plan is ambitious and wide-ranging, outlining the innovations we need to save lives and to stop outbreaks early and equitably.’
Gates himself says: “Whenever I see the suffering that COVID has created I can’t help but think: We don’t have to do this again. The goal of no more pandemics ever is ambitious, but the progress we’ve made over the last two years—including the huge leaps forward we’ve made with vaccines and the knowledge we’ve gained about respiratory illnesses—has already set us on a path to success. If we make the right choices and investments, we can make COVID-19 the last pandemic.”
On his blog, GatesNotes, he says: “I know that might be hard to believe while we’re still trying to get COVID under control. The last two years have caused unbelievable amounts of hardship around the world, and it’s not easy to feel optimistic when you’ve endured the misery that so many people have experienced. But whenever I see the suffering that COVID has created–every time I read about the latest death toll or hear about someone who lost their job or drive by a school that is closed—I can’t help but think: ‘We don’t have to do this again.’
“This is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, and COVID has only made it clearer that the world needs to prioritize eliminating pandemics as a threat to humanity. I’ve been following COVID since the early days of the outbreak, working with experts from inside and out of the Gates Foundation who are championing a more equitable response and have been fighting infectious diseases for decades. I’ve learned a lot in the process—both about this pandemic and how we stop the next one—and I want to share what I’ve heard with people. So, I started writing a book about how we can make sure that no one suffers through a pandemic ever again.”