Bill Gates Believes Covid-19 May Eventually Be Treated Like The Seasonal Flu; Here’s What That Means

As variant after variant of Covid-19 has boldly emerged over the last two years, public health experts and individuals worldwide have the same question in mind: when will the world be free of this devastating virus?

But experts do not really believe the future will be Covid free. Rather, many prominent academics believe that Covid-19 is here to stay, perhaps in less virulent and disease-inducing forms than it originally presented as.

World renowned technology tycoon and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, believes something similar. Earlier this week, in a Twitter conversation with Professor Devi Sridhar (who is Professor and Chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburg), Gates was asked by Dr. Sridhar: “Final question- what everyone wants to know -> how and when will the pandemic be over? Does omicron show that we can ‘live with COVID’? Or are other dangerous variants around the corner in 2022?”

Gates had a composed and poignant response: “As countries experience their Omicron wave health systems will be challenged. Most of the severe cases will be unvaccinated people. Once Omicron goes through a country then the rest of the year should see far fewer cases so Covid can be treated more like seasonal flu.”

As alluded to above, Gates is certainly not the only one that believes this sentiment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated early on: “The Omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus…” Since its proliferation, this aspect of the new variant has largely been confirmed by public health experts, as Omicron has rapidly dominated the majority of new Covid-19 coronavirus infections worldwide in the last month. However, the pathological effect caused by Omicron is still largely unknown, with many saying that it produces less severe disease.

If this is indeed eventually proven to be true—that Omicron is more transmissible, yet less severe in its disease process—then perhaps Gates and public health experts are onto something significant. This pattern would follow similar traits to other common viruses prevalent among the human population, such as rhinovirus (the “common cold”) and  influenza (the “flu”)—both of which are noted to be certainly more transmissible, but typically (not always) entail less severe outcomes. Indeed, if coronavirus ends up as such, it may potentially become just another seasonal respiratory illness.

Unequivocally, vaccine manufacturers are confident that routine booster shots for Covid-19 coronavirus will likely become the new norm moving forward for continued protection, just as the seasonal flu shot is recommended every year by public health experts.

Indeed, only time will tell if the Covid-19 coronavirus will become more docile in the coming months and years. However, after the immense suffering and devastation experienced over the last two years, the world is hopeful for better days ahead.