By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--May 5, 2021
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"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”With little space and no privacy to call their own, the entire Covid-captive world is trying to “navigate” its way into a “new life”. Interesting that as recently as last September, there was no talk of the Gates divorce, when Bill Gates was making promises to cure a pandemic-ravaged world.
“It is part of an $11 billion effort to lay the groundwork to procure coronavirus vaccines for more than 150 countries. “Funded largely with public money, the initiative is led by two global nonprofits that Mr. Gates helped launch and bankroll, along with the World Health Organization, which relies on the Gates Foundation as one of its largest donors. “Working behind the scenes is one of the world’s richest men, neither a scientist nor a doctor, who sees himself and his $50 billion foundation as uniquely prepared to take a central part. Mr. Gates and his team are drawing on connections and infrastructure the foundation has built over two decades to help guide the effort. “We know how to work with governments, we know how to work with pharma, we’ve thought about this scenario,” Mr. Gates said in a recent interview. “We need — at least in terms of expertise and relationships — to play a very, very key role here.”Talk about bragging rights!
“…In recent months, Mr. Gates, who emphasizes that he is one of many involved in the vaccine effort, has hosted online round tables with drug company officials.(NYT) “He has pursued financial commitments from world leaders: In one week alone, he and his wife and co-chair, Melinda Gates, spoke with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi.
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“In Washington, he has consulted frequently with Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s chief infectious disease expert and a longtime collaborator on vaccine initiatives, and talked to Senator Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor who has been supportive of programs to eradicate that and other scourges. And to help staff the vaccine effort, his foundation has provided millions of dollars for McKinsey & Company consultants. “Some people will say, ‘Why should it be him?’” said Dr. Ariel Pablos-Méndez, former director of knowledge management at the W.H.O. “He has the star power. He has the resources. He cares. There are many players that do things, but not at the scale of Gates.” “…As Mr. Gates has made public appearances to win support for the initiative, he has increasingly become the target of conspiracy theories that could undermine vaccination efforts. “Some falsely claim that his foundation tested vaccines that killed thousands of children in Africa and India, while others link him to bogus depopulation efforts. One poll from May found 44 percent of Republicans believed that the global immunization effort was a cover for Mr. Gates to implant microchips to track people. That claim is baseless. “Mr. Gates remains undaunted. “I’ve never heard either Bill or Melinda say anything to the effect of ‘We’ll just work on something else, this is too tough,’” said the billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who entrusted the Gates Foundation with $31 billion of his own fortune to give away. “The job is to work on tough problems.” “As a novel coronavirus linked to a live animal market began spreading rapidly in Wuhan, China, Mr. Gates watched from his office outside Seattle.
“On Feb. 14, he and leaders at his foundation, fearing a global threat, gathered to plan a response. From that point on, Mr. Gates recalled, “we’re on Code Red.” “On March 13, two days after the W.H.O. declared a global pandemic, Mr. Gates conferred online with 12 top pharmaceutical executives, including the heads of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, which both have leading vaccine candidates. “Mr. Gates had valuable insights from Dr. Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. More than a decade ago, the billionaire had invited Dr. Fauci to his home to join a discussion about tuberculosis. Since then, they have coordinated efforts aimed at fighting not just that disease but also malaria, polio and AIDS. “He had asked the Trump administration and Congress for $8 billion, half for the global vaccine effort and half for therapeutics and diagnostics in poor countries. In private calls, Mr. Gates, who had forged ties with leaders of both parties but remained nonpartisan over the years, made his case to Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others. “He put himself in the public eye more than ever before, often appearing in a pastel sweater that drew comparisons to Mister Rogers, and repeating in interviews that the pandemic required an international response. “He’s made a choice to become very public, very political, where he’s acting like a lobbyist,” said Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health law at Georgetown.”
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