(Bill) Gates to Donate $10 Billion for Vaccine Research

[WriteDown]

Source: AP

DAVOS, Switzerland — The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $10 billion over the next decade to research new vaccines and bring them to the world's poorest countries, the Microsoft co-founder and his wife said Friday.

Calling upon governments and business to also contribute, they said the money will produce higher immunization rates and aims to make sure that 90 percent of children are immunized against dangerous diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia in poorer nations.

"We must make this the decade of vaccines," Bill Gates said in a statement. "Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before."

Gates said the commitment more than doubles the $4.5 billion the foundation has given to vaccine research over the years.

The foundation said up to 7.6 million children under 5 could be saved through 2019 as a result of the donation. It also estimates that an additional 1.1 million kids would be saved if a malaria vaccine can be introduced by 2014. A tuberculosis vaccine would prevent even more deaths.

"Vaccines are a miracle," said Melinda Gates. "With just a few doses, they can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime."....

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,584250,00.html?test=latestnews

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What a bastard! He can do garbage like this, but when has he ever unveiled anything as cool as an iPad. :sarcasm:

[MinneapolisMatt]

1. WOW.

10 billion is an insane amount of money!

[WriteDown]

3. Hard to wrap one's brain around. nt

[Hosnon]

12. Exactly. It's good to see this. nt.

[coffeenap]

2. Now THAT"s what getting rich is for!

Turning off the cynicism for now, :)

[WriteDown]

4. Yes, its actually something to feel good about. nt

[tuvor]

5. Vaccinations "can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime."

Sounds like a Steven Wright one-liner.

[MineralMan]

6. Why, oh why does he want to kill all those people with his

evil vaccinations? :sarcasm:

[GoneOffShore]

8. Appearance of the Anti Vaxxers in 3 - 2 - 1

[GoneOffShore]

7. Gates - He's doing great things

Even though I don't buy Microsoft products and I'm not a fan of hugeness, Gates is a real progressive.

[rucky]

9. Well spent!

I think Melinda gets a lot of credit for this one.

[no limit]

10. Yeah, what an asshole. Wait? 10 billion with a "b"?

Holy shiet!

[Jennicut]

11. Now this is what philanthropy is all about.

[WriteDown]

13. Making people autistic?

I need a rimshot.

[Jennicut]

14. As someone with diabetes, I would never stop getting a flu vaccine. My kids

have been vaccinated since they were babies. One daughter has asthma. The flu shot is extremely helpful to her. I am more likely to get very, very sick from diabetes complications with the flu then from a vaccine. I was one of the first to get my H1N1 shot. My immune system is shot. I think vaccines are incredibly helpful to people like me and don't get the paranoia at all that some people have.

[WriteDown]

15. I sure hope you didn't take that seriously. nt

[Jennicut]

16. No...at first.

But then I saw you wrote the OP so...yeah, I am slow.
But so many people even on DU are like that for real.

[WriteDown]

17. Phew....

I know, I was mocking the anto-vaxers which always give me a good chuckle

[diamidue]

33. I didn't get the flu. I know some who did.

Just like some people get the flu or other illnesses every winter. Everyone is fine now.

I feel sorry for those who got themselves shot up with vaccines containing thimerosal (mercury), aluminum, squalene and formaldehyde thinking it was helping them. All it did was pump them full of dangerous chemicals.

How swell that this jerk is going to donate so much money to give vaccinations to poor third-world kids to keep them from getting diarrhea. He could have spent the money cleaning up their water system instead. He is a globalist tool.

[WriteDown]

34. Thanks for proving that no good deed goes unpunished. nt

[diamidue]

37. good deed or globalist agenda?

Gates is also teaming with Monsanto to help those poor ignorant African farmers see the error of their ways and adopt biotech crops.

Funny how his help always benefits the likes of the pharmaceutical industry or Monsanto, etc.

Amazingly, and unfortunately for Gates and Monsanto, many Africans see through the scam:

http://current.com/items/91070994_ending-africas-hunger-gates-foundation-monsanto.htm

[Jennicut]

41. When I get sick with a simple cold I am not "fine".

I have had to be put on antibiotics 3 years in a row as I inevitably get an infection each time. And that was just a cold. I have a pretty sucky immune system even though I keep my blood sugars in a good range. It is still worse then the average person so things just don't heal well with me or I don't get over ordinary illness that fast. The flu is not something I want to mess with. I have never had a reaction to any flu shot, including the H1N1 shot.

[Roon]

44. I got both seasonal flu shot and h1n1 shot

if I get either flu, it could be curtains. So I don't take a chance.

[tavalon]

18. One million for Haiti

Ten billion for vaccines.

[WriteDown]

19. Hang him! nt

[Rebubula]

36. What is your point?

1 Million goes to help one country recover from a terrible disaster


10 billion go to ensuring that 6 billion children are free from preventable diseases.

[tavalon]

43. The foundation has over 50 billion

As long as they go about the development of these vaccines responsibly (they haven't always), that is great, but 1 million is a paltry amount and 1 billion could help 1000 times more and it wouldn't really deplete their foundation at all. That was my point. Tiger Woods gave 3 million and you know he doesn't have 50 billion.

[BrightKnight]

42. focusing their finite resources on saving 9 million children under 5 in 9 years

Lives will continue to be saved in the decades that follow. There are 2 to 3 million people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

The gates foundation has chosen to focus its finite resources on vaccines, healthcare, and education. Oxfam focuses on famine relief. MSF focuses on medical care. UNICEF focuses on children. The SPCA focuses on animals. No organization can do everything.

The Gates Foundation saw the need and in Haiti and sent a substantial amount of money. Disaster relief has never been the focus of the Gates Foundation.

[classysassy]

47. Bush and Chaney

How much did they give,after stealing billions?.

[HuckleB]

20. K & R.

[winyanstaz]

21. Too bad they are not spending all those billions..

to save a few American kids from starving at home (if they even have a home) because mom and dad don't have a job because microsoft and all the other corporations that make billions have outsourced our jobs.

The other fly in the ointment is how well can these shots be trusted with the history of bad and tainted drugs going out?

By the way...the drug companies are now admitting that they were scaring the crap out of the world over swine flu just to make a few bucks.

[Robb]

22. Oh, bullshit. nt

[winyanstaz]

25. oh your probably right...to hell with America in its time of trouble....

and who cares about American kids anyways?:sarcasm:

[WriteDown]

23. Yes, he just doesn't care. Burn him! nt

[latebloomer]

24. Good points!

[boppers]

27. "drug companies are now admitting that they were scaring the crap "...

Link please? I've seen accusations about the drug companies, but accusations, and admissions, are not the same thing. Mostly what I've seen was the WHO having to explain that math is the cause of labeling something an epidemic, regardless of what drug companies say.

[BootinUp]

26. I loved his swipe at bankers (from CNN)

From the article:

And with the subject of excesses in the financial sector high on the agenda at Davos, Bill Gates suggested bankers with their big bonuses should travel to places such as Africa and see what is needed for themselves.



http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/01/29/davos.bill.gates.donates/index.html?hpt=T2

[Tumbulu]

28. me, too! (nt)

[skyounkin]

29. He was knighted by the queen is 2005

for his philanthropy work.

He is the richest man in the world and he shares it with those in need.

This is to be commended greatly.

[WriteDown]

30. Should be, but as you can see from upthread many won't. nt

[AngryAmish]

31. Why does he want to give kids autism?

What terrible thing. Giving away 10 billions dollars.

[diamidue]

32. A shame to waste money this way. n/t

[Mithreal]

35. When a billionaire does good by average people, lets cheer, but

keep in mind they pay less of a percentage in membership dues that keep this country running smoothly and benefited enormously from our shared investments in this country.

When you all reached into your wallets and bank accounts and gave generously and maybe even until it hurt, you did it anonymously and deserve no less appreciation.

[Princess Turandot]

38. The Gates Family agrees with you..

"No one accumulates a fortune without the help of our society's investments. How much wealth would exist without America's unique property rights protections, public infrastructure, and academic institutions? We should celebrate the estate tax as an "economic opportunity recycling" program, where previous generations made investments for us and now it's our turn to pass on the gift. Strengthening the estate tax is important to our democracy." - Bill Gates Sr., speaking as part of 'United for a Fair Economy' efforts to keep / strengthen the federal estate tax.

They're doing a great thing. It doesn't require a lot of modifiers/footnotes IMO.

[Mithreal]

40. +1

[laylah]

39. While admirable, would he consider

donating $65k to me to save my house? Just asking.

[applegrove]

45. Very cool.

[undeterred]

46. Bill and Melinda Gates are good people.

Very good people. :thumbsup:

[Regret My New Name]

48. He could do more...

but he doesn't really care.