Bill Gates predicts world will be ‘back to normal’ by end of 2022

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates predicted this week that the world will be “back to normal” by the end of 2022 thanks to COVID-19 vaccinations. 

Gates told Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and television broadcaster TVN24 that the coronavirus pandemic has been “an incredible tragedy,” but he expressed hope for the future, Reuters reported on Thursday.

“By the end of 2022 we should be basically completely back to normal,” Gates said.

Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, through their foundation have designated at least $1.75 billion to respond to the pandemic globally, including through vaccines.

The former Microsoft chairman’s forecast comes as many countries, are prioritizing vaccinations, including the U.S., which has administered more than 130 million doses, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. 

One-quarter of the American population had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Wednesday morning, and 14 percent are fully vaccinated.

Earlier this month, Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious diseases expert, said he has a “great deal of confidence” that if vaccinations continue and the number of new COVID-19 cases per day declines, coronavirus restrictions could be loosened by the Fourth of July.  

The CDC this month also released guidelines for fully vaccinated people, saying they could gather with other fully vaccinated people and low-risk unvaccinated people inside without masks or social distancing and not have to get tested or quarantine after exposure if they are asymptomatic. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. has faced calls to share its vaccine stockpile with other countries and committed last week to send millions of surplus doses to Mexico and Canada. 

President Biden has also pledged $4 billion, including $2 billion in immediate funding, to Covax, the global program dedicated to getting vaccines to poorer countries.