![TIME artwork](https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts123/v4/ca/82/61/ca82618d-5fd9-0105-6f0a-bee2e9892d98/mza_8973721125146917814.png/100x100bb.jpg)
Bill Gates Says the World Got Lucky With COVID-19: ‘It Could Have Been Way More Fatal’
TIME
English - June 08, 2022 12:38 - 4 minutes - 8.15 MB - ★★★★ - 63 ratingsDaily News News Society & Culture spokenlayer Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
The cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is staggering, in terms of both human life and and economic activity. But Bill Gates believes humanity is fortunate that the virus was not even more devastating.
"I have to say, given the toll of this pandemic 20 million dead globally, a million in the U.S., and it could have been way more fatal. We just got lucky that the death rate per case was like 0.2%," Gates told TIME senior correspondent Alice Park during the TIME 100 Summit in New York City on Tuesday.