Bill Gates claims that Covid-19 vaccines have saved humanity. In the next pandemic, something that the writer and activist gives as a fact, the vaccination process must be shortened. Six months after an outbreak is discovered, the entire world population should be vaccinated. Bill Gates´ proposal is called GERM: Global Epidemic Response and Mobilization. It would cost close to a billion dollars a year and would involve a team made up of some three thousand specialists in different areas: medicine and infectious disease, genetics, biology, information technology, communication, logistics, public policy experts, and product development experts. According to Gates, the world must prepare, but is the new pandemic really an imminent danger?

Catherine Dumont is an author and historian. Named as Distinguished Professor of American Studies and History, her research interests include the construction of racial identity and class structures.