buckbrush Loc: Texas then Southwest Oregon

This video was shown on TED Talks in 2015.
I am amazed Bill Gates was so accurate. This is a video that has scary statistics that I never knew regarding how many people died, worldwide, in 1918.

Some people see things other people won't. Unfortunately, we did not listen and follow through with the necessary action.

I'm not able to post the link properly but this is the address the TED web site gave me.
Alex

https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

luvmypets Loc: Born & raised Texan living in Fayetteville NC

Very informative!!! I wish the powers that be had listened and put his ideas into action. Maybe we wouldn't be in this situation. If China had not been secretive and called for help when the virus was starting we probably wouldn't be where we are today.

Dodie

toxdoc42

In all honesty, Gates was a good spokesman and advocate. But, "we" all warned about the possibility of a pandemic after 911. Remember there was the anthrax scare, then the swine flu and h2n1. We developed very involved plans about how to respond to a future outbreak, and developed a plan to have hospitals equipped to handle 5 very sick patients at once, with back up for another within 15-30 minutes and then 100 over the next 8 hours. We helped develop a strategic stockpile of medications and durable medical equipment. Someone, on the federal level, made the decision to eliminate all of these plans and all future planning. You all see the results!

willy6419

Yep, some major work from 2002. One Federal group "worked" with a company to build a new, low cost ventilator from 2005, and supposed to finally get delivery in 2021, and they recently commented that they 'made great progress'. Really! It's not supposed to be a career, it's supposed to be a procurement project with results, then on to the next priority. Oops, apparently there wasn't much of a priority.

When you are essentially broke, borrowing and paying interest just to fund current promises, you don't have the money to prepare for the inevitable, but hopefully 'not on my watch', events that we know are likely.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Yes - it is human nature to lay blame - including recriminations - unfortunately we have to deal with the current situation regardless. But - when this is all over then there are lessons to learn - and they should include limiting the wealth that any one person can possess world wide. So far as this current pandemic is concerned, there is not a country in the world that did not start off by putting their economy before lives.

Woodworm65 Loc: Lombard, IL

It is very easy to finger point in the current situation, and yes China is the cause of this but it does not start and end with them there other countries in this world we live in that ride the fence with health issues look at India for example a pandemic can come from there as well, what needs to happen is to get China and countries like China to clean up there act so this does not happen again with even a more deadly virus.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

Well yes, but at this time Trump continues to lie about things and does not work to clear bottlenecks.. as yesterday started talking about FBI, Impeachment, etc... after he said he was not aware there was a test shortage and also said he had a 10,000 ventilator stockpile so there was no shortage. The things in this paragraph are Here-and-now... not the past. We are running second to Zimbabwe in getting things done; worse than 3rd world. Will trump re-establish the system for pandemic planning that Obama set up.. trump bought new atomic bombs instead.

Elon Musk, so I read, has acquired ventilators from China and will ... "Tesla's chief executive and co-founder Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday his Palo Alto-based company is focused on delivering desperately-needed ventilators to hospitals and medical centers, free of charge." While Trump sits on 10,000 claiming that they are not needed.
https://abc7news.com/elon-musk-tesla-ventilators-coronavirus-cases/6065934/

"President Trump said that there are almost 10,000 ventilators being “held back” from distribution because “the surge is coming.”

“We also are holding back quite a bit. We have almost 10,000 ventilators that we have ready to go. We have to hold them back, because the surge is coming and it's coming pretty strong and we want to be able to immediately move it into place without going and taking it, so we're ready to go," Trump said."
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-03-31-20/h_d7910f7f1f9212668bcb09785128d04e

So, people are dying while Trump sits on 10000 ventilators. As you gasp for air, Delderby, I am sure you will not blame Trump... or will you? Your despiration for air will change your mind.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

The reason Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world is because he is a visionary. Our government needs to tap into the talents of people like this and listen to what they see for the future.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Really nothing new or visionary. Bill Gates is eloquently reiterating what the medical and biological communities have been saying for years. Yes, our current President made a series of blunders in first dealing with this pandemic but the issue has largely gone unaddressed by several previous Presidents, too.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

"the issue has largely gone unaddressed by several previous Presidents" Fourlocks, Obama set up a group specifically to deal with future pandemics. Trump disbanded it but now blames others: "Trump bristled when asked about his decision to disband the office at a news conference in the Rose Garden on Friday.

“I just think it's a nasty question,” the president responded. “And when you say ‘me,' I didn't do it. ... I don't know anything about it.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/03/18/coronavirus-did-president-trumps-decision-disband-global-pandemic-office-hinder-response/5064881002/

" responsible for pandemic preparedness — was established in 2015 by Barack Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice ( here ). The unit resided under the National Security Council (NSC) — a forum of White House personnel that advises the president on national security and foreign policy matters. "

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

We tend to think of deadly diseases as occurring in third world countries. Does that mean we're one now?

Another TED speaker gave a similar presentation in 2005, I think. It's too bad we didn't prepare ourselves.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Just for the record - I have not mentioned Trump in this discussion - and if I gasp for air it will be in UK, and if I blame anyone it will be Boris & Co.

ntonkin Loc: western Upper Peninusla of Michigan

Bill Gates wasn't really an visionary, he just read a few books. - "The Coming Plague - Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance" by Laurie Garrett was first printed in 1994 and I'm sure there are many before then. "The River : A Journey to the Source of HIV and AIDS" by Edward Hooper (1999) is another one. We (our society) don't remember the lessons of the past such as the Spanish Influenza of 1917 - 1918 so, here we go again.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

Well, let’s see; you mentioned 10,000 ventilators at least 4 times in your diatribe against Trump. You do know that Congress is involved in making decisions concerning our country, do you not? But, The House of Representatives were so concerned about getting Trump out of office they couldn’t get anything else done. (We don’t need to get into how the House broke laws in their actions against Trump.). That said, when the leaders of the Dems in the House finally got involved in a bill concerning the virus, they couldn’t concentrate on the virus with it’s urgency. They had to hold things up with provisions for pork barrel items such as increasing funds for NPR, solar & wind energy, & certain libraries, etc. instead of just concentrating on virus mitigation & trying to stabilize the economy; which , by the way, helps ordinary citizens to be able to pay bills & survive economically.
By the way, I have in the past voted for Democrats I figured were better suited for an elective office.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

To give some credit where it's due (and non-partisan) both George W. Bush and Obama made pretty significant upgrades to our public health preparedness. After 911 Bush started building up our capabilities and Obama having a couple of outbreaks during his watch added to it. The present occupant of the White House did not see this as an issue and deleted most of ability to respond to a pandemic such as we are seeing.