--- title: "Bill Gates: Sorry, But It’s Unlikely There’ll Be a Vaccine This Year" description: "In a new interview, Gates says he's still optimistic that a vaccine is on the way. But it's unlikely, he said, that there'll be one by the end of the year." date: "2020-09-15" modified: "2020-09-15" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/bill-gates-sorry-unlikely-vaccine-this-year" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "Bill Gates" - "coronavirus" - "covid" - "health" --- # Bill Gates: Sorry, But It’s Unlikely There’ll Be a Vaccine This Year ![In a new interview, Gates says he's still optimistic that a vaccine is on the way. But it's unlikely, he said, that there'll be one by the end of the year.]() *\Image: WEF/Victor Tangermann\* Bill Gates — the retired Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist — has emerged as a surprisingly high-profile figure during the coronavirus pandemic, [criticizing the government's response to the disease]() and raising money to [distribute a vaccine](). Now, in a [new interview with *CNBC*](), Gates says that he's still optimistic that a vaccine is on the way. It's possible that one will be available by the end of the year, he said, but he considers it unlikely. "The only vaccine that if everything went perfectly, might seek the emergency use license by the end of October, would be Pfizer," he said. "None of the vaccines are likely to seek approval in the U.S. before the end of October." But by the very end of 2020 or 2021, the multibillionaire said, he thinks that the chances will start to get better and better. "I do think once you get into, say, December or January, the chances are that at least two or three will (seek approval) — if the effectiveness is there," he told the network. In the same interview, Gates also expressed optimism about the results of the vaccines under development by Moderna and AstraZeneca. "We do see good antibody levels both in the phase one and the phase two, so we’re pretty hopeful," Gates said. Both [Russia]() and [China]() have already approved emergency vaccines — but without testing rigorous enough to convince doctors. “This is a reckless and foolish decision,” Francois Balloux, Professor of Computational Systems Biology at University College London said, [told *Science Media Centre*]() in August. ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()