Covid-19 risks have reduced but another pandemic is all but certain: Bill Gates

"The virus itself, particularly the variant called Omicron, is a type of vaccine, creates both B cell and T cell immunity and it's done a better job of getting out to the world population than we have with vaccines," said Bill Gates at the Munich Security Conference.

Bill Gates said that the risks of severe disease from Covid-19 have “dramatically reduced” but another pandemic is all but certain.

Speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at Germany’s annual Munich Security Conference, Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said that a potential new pandemic would likely stem from a different pathogen to that of the coronavirus family.

Two years into the coronavirus pandemic, Gates said the worst effects have faded as huge swathes of the global population have gained some level of immunity. Its severity has also waned with the latest omicron variant.

However, Gates said that in many places that was due to virus itself, which creates a level of immunity, and has “done a better job of getting out to the world population than we have with vaccines.”