Collaborating against COVID-19: A timeline

December 31, 2019: Health authorities in China launch an investigation into mysterious cases of pneumonia.

January 11, 2020: China shares the genetic information of a novel coronavirus and reports the first death.

January 10, 2020: The foundation team that was set up to monitor outbreaks after the 2014 Ebola scare begins tracking the spread of the virus.

January 13, 2020: The U.S. National Institutes of Health and Moderna finish sequencing the novel coronavirus’s messenger RNA.

January 13–20, 2020: Thailand and South Korea confirm the first novel coronavirus cases outside of China.

January 23, 2020: China locks down the city of Wuhan, the origin of the novel coronavirus outbreak; Vietnam initiates localized lockdowns.

January 23, 2020: Trevor Mundel, president of the foundation’s Global Health Division, writes a note to Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates about the novel coronavirus’s potential global threat on behalf of the outbreak monitoring team. Bill and Melinda immediately approve US$5 million to help the world respond to the threat.

January 26, 2020: The foundation announces US$10 million in emergency funds and corresponding technical support to help frontline responders in China and Africa accelerate efforts to contain the global spread of the virus. This includes US$5 million for Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) to ramp up early testing and surveillance.

January 30, 2020: WHO declares the 2019-nCoV outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, noting the potential spread of the virus to countries with weak health systems.

February 5, 2020: The foundation pledges up to US$100 million to improve the global response to the virus, including for detection, isolation, and treatment (US$20 million), protecting at-risk populations in Africa and South Asia by strengthening emergency operations centers and health systems (US$20 million), and accelerating the development of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics (US$60 million).

February 11, 2020: The World Health Organization (WHO) officially names the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. It names the disease it causes COVID-19.

February 15, 2020: France reports the first COVID-19 death in Europe.

February 26, 2020: Brazil confirms a case of COVID-19, the first reported in South America.

February 28, 2020: Bill Gates writes a piece for the New England Journal of Medicine arguing for an immediate and comprehensive response to the threat posed by COVID-19.

Early March 2020: The foundation gives US$2.5 million to WHO’s Africa Regional Office to help member states strengthen their COVID-19 response.

March 9, 2020: Italy, overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases, initiates a nationwide lockdown.

March 4, 2020: The foundation pledges US$5 million to support the COVID-19 response in the greater Seattle area.

March 11, 2020: WHO declares COVID-19 a global pandemic.

March 10, 2020: The foundation announces that up to US$50 million of the funds it pledged on February 5 (to accelerate drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics) will go toward supporting the newly formed COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.

March 15–30, 2020: The U.S., Canada, and much of Europe, Latin America and parts of Africa initiate localized or nationwide lockdowns. On March 18, Australia declares its first-ever “human biosecurity emergency.” India initiates a nationwide lockdown on March 24 and South Africa on March 27.

April 15, 2020: The number of COVID-19 cases surpasses 2 million.

April 15, 2020: The foundation pledges an additional US$150 million to fund the development of COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines, as well as new efforts to provide partners in Africa and South Asia with resources to scale up detection, treatment, and isolation efforts and minimize the social and economic impacts of the virus. This includes funding to the Wits Health Consortium and Novavax to conduct vaccine efficacy trials in Africa that include people living with HIV.

April 15, 2020: Cheikh Oumar Seydi, the foundation’s Africa director, explains the foundation’s approach to addressing COVID-19 in Africa.

April 17, 2020: Mark Suzman, CEO of the foundation, participates in a Q&A about the foundation’s overall response to the pandemic.

April 21, 2020: Africa CDC and the African Union launch the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT) to support testing, tracing, and treatment across the continent.

April 22, 2020: Jean Kagubare, the foundation’s deputy director for health systems design, writes about the critical importance of continuing to invest in primary health care during the COVID-19 crisis.

April 24, 2020: WHO and partners launch the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) partnership, a coordinated global effort to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. Along with governments, multilateral organizations, businesses scientists, and civil society organizations, ACT-A brings together key global health partners that include Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); the World Bank; and the foundation. The vaccines pillar of ACT-A is known as the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX).

April 30, 2020: The foundation, as part of the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, reserves manufacturing capacity with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies for a dedicated supply of future COVID-19 therapies for use in lower-income countries.

April 30, 2020: On his GatesNotes blog, Bill Gates gives an update on COVID-19 vaccine development.

May 4, 2020: The foundation pledges an additional US$50 million to Gavi to support its future efforts to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries.

May 9, 2020: The number of COVID-19 cases surpasses 4 million globally.

May 7, 2020: As part of its US$10 million pledge made on January 26, the foundation announces grant support to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) to aid its work on emergency response and COVID-19 disease modeling.

May 10, 2020: The foundation gives US$5 million to the Transforming Rural India Foundation to strengthen and support COVID-19 containment and treatment efforts in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, including building more hospital space.

May 21, 2020: The number of COVID-19 cases surpasses 5 million globally.

May 31, 2020: The number of COVID-19 cases surpasses 6 million globally.

May 27, 2020: M. Hari Menon, the foundation’s India director, writes about India’s COVID-19 response.

June 4, 2020: The foundation pledges an additional US$50 million to Gavi’s new COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC), bringing the total foundation commitment to Gavi’s COVAX AMC to US$100 million. This is in addition to the foundation’s core Gavi pledge of US$1.6 billion for 2021 to 2025 announced at the same event.

June 19, 2020: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chair of the African Union, launches the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) as a single online marketplace to help ensure access to COVID-19-related medical equipment in Africa.

June 16, 2020: Solomon Zewdu, the foundation’s deputy director for health in Africa, highlights Africa’s successes in responding to COVID-19.

June 27, 2020: The Global Goal: Unite for Our Future campaign organized by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Global Citizen mobilizes 6.15 billion euros to help ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.

July 20, 2020: European Union leaders agree on a US$859 billion pandemic relief package to stimulate economic recovery.

July 17, 2020: The foundation commits to joining the AMSP initiative to bring COVID-19 treatments to Africa by securing supplies of dexamethasone, which is used in the U.S. and Europe on patients who are very sick with COVID-19.

July 30, 2020: The African continent is not on track to reach 10% of its population vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of this year, says Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a press conference. “That should be a scar on all of our consciences,” he says.

August 6, 2020: Gavi, the Serum Institute of India, and the foundation announce a collaboration to accelerate the manufacture and delivery of up to 100 million doses of future COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, with the foundation providing US$150 million to Gavi from its Strategic Investment Fund.

August 17, 2020: The foundation provides support to WHO’s China office to aid in WHO Emergency Use Listing of Chinese COVID-19-related medical products (from funds pledged on February 5, 2020).

August 30, 2020: The European Commission joins COVAX and announces a US$400 million contribution to accelerate vaccine manufacture and distribution.

August 24, 2020: As part of its US$10 million commitment made on January 26, the foundation grants funding to the National Natural Science Foundation in China for emergency response and COVID-19 disease modeling.

September 14, 2020: In the 2020 Goalkeepers Report, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates state that COVID-19 has set back progress on global health by 25 years in just 25 weeks.

September 28, 2020: The foundation announces, as part of a larger package of support for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) partnership, two separate volume guarantees with Abbott and SD Biosensor to make 120 million antigen rapid diagnostic tests available in low- and middle-income countries at no more than US$5 per dose.

September 29, 2020: The official COVID-19 worldwide death toll reaches 1 million.

September 29, 2020: Gavi, the Serum Institute of India, and the foundation expand their collaboration to accelerate the manufacture and delivery of future COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, doubling the number of doses to be delivered from up to 100 million to up to 200 million.

September 29, 2020: Reflecting on the grim milestone of 1 million COVID-19 deaths, Mark Suzman, CEO of the foundation, calls for global support for the ACT-Accelerator.

September 30, 2020: Bill Gates speaks at the UN General Assembly about the importance of equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments for COVID-19.

September 30, 2020: The foundation joins 16 life science companies in a joint communique stating that, among other things, the companies will cooperate on rapidly escalating the supply of COVID-19 innovations and ensuring that approved vaccines are broadly distributed globally as early as possible and at an affordable price.

October 8, 2020: The foundation announces that Eli Lilly will be the first company to use FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies’ reserved manufacturing capacity for antibody therapies to benefit low- and middle-income countries (previously announced on April 30), beginning in April 2021.

October 19, 2020: Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 40 million.

October 13, 2020: The foundation pledges US$15 million to provide COVID-19 diagnostic testing infrastructure for up to 10 historically Black college and universities in the U.S.

November 10, 2020: The foundation contributes US$17 million to a global initiative to roll out LumiraDx diagnostic instruments and associated COVID-19 antigen rapid diagnostic tests in African countries.

November 11, 2020: Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 51 million.

November 12, 2020: The foundation commits an additional US$50 million to the COVAX AMC (bringing the total to US$156 million) and US$20 million to support CEPI’s Wave 2 vaccine portfolio.

November 17, 2020: As part of its US$100 million commitment announced on February 5, the foundation supports PATH with technical assistance to help with WHO Emergency Use Listing of Chinese COVID-19-related medical products.

November 19, 2020: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpasses 2 million on the African continent.

November 18, 2020: Lynda Stuart, then-deputy director of the foundation’s Discovery & Translational Sciences team, participates in a Q&A about progress on COVID-19 vaccines.

December 8, 2020: The UK becomes the first country to begin widespread vaccination campaigns.

December 9, 2020: The foundation pledges an additional US$250 million to accelerate the development and equitable distribution of COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

December 14, 2020: Health care workers and long-term care residents become the first groups in the U.S. to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. 

December 18, 2020: South African researchers announce a new coronavirus variant of concern, beta, which already accounts for 90% of sequences analyzed in the country.

December 17, 2020: Cheikh Oumar Seydi and M. Hari Menon, the foundation’s Africa and India directors, respectively, reflect on the first year of COVID-19 response in Q&As.

December 27, 2020: South Africa’s COVID-19 cases reach 1 million.

February 8, 2021: Mark Suzman, CEO of the foundation, urges collective global action to expedite COVID-19 vaccinations worldwide.

February 24, 2021: In the first shipment from COVAX, Ghana receives 600,000 AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine doses.

February 26, 2021: Mark Suzman explains why the foundation focuses on vaccine equity.

March 2, 2021: Solomon Zewdu, the foundation’s deputy director for health in Africa, writes about the first COVAX vaccine deliveries to Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire and the need for vaccine equity.

March 11, 2021: The U.S. passes the US$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which includes economic relief to individuals and local governments and funding for COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

April 15, 2021: As part of Gavi’s COVAX AMC Investment Opportunity launch, the foundation announces that US$30 million of its contribution to the Gavi Matching Fund (which matches private-sector financial contributions) will be made available to match private-sector contributions to the COVAX AMC.

May 2, 2021: Amid a surge of new COVID-19 cases in India and unprecedented demand for medical oxygen, the foundation, Citadel, and other partners announce US$5.5 million in new commitments to PATH to help increase the supply of medical oxygen in India.

May 6, 2021: India, a crucial hub of vaccine production, hits a record 412,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day.

May 6, 2021: Mark Suzman, CEO of the foundation, announces the foundation’s support for a narrow waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.

May 7, 2021: The foundation pledges $US2 million to UNICEF to provide communications support for COVID-19 vaccine rollout campaigns in India.

May 17, 2021: The foundation announces $US1.7 million in funding to Give India’s India COVID-19 Response Fund to strengthen the philanthropic response to the COVID-19 crisis in India and improve supplies of medical equipment and oxygen.

May 21, 2021: The European Commission and Italy, as chair of the G20, co-host the Global Health Summit in Rome, where leaders share a commitment to ending the pandemic and preparing for future pandemics.

May 18, 2021: M. Hari Menon, the foundation’s India director, writes about the foundation’s response to the surprising surge of the delta variant in India.

June 2, 2021: As a part of Gavi’s COVAX AMC Summit, the foundation pledges an additional US$50 million to the COVAX AMC to procure COVID-19 vaccines for lower-income countries.

June 19, 2021: China reaches the milestone of 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered nationwide.

June 30, 2021: Melinda French Gates warns about the pandemic’s disproportionate economic impact on women and the need for an inclusive recovery.

July 7, 2021: Reported COVID-19 deaths surpass 4 million globally.

July 28, 2021: In response to surges driven by the delta variant in Africa, the foundation provides US$20 million to support Africa CDC’s emergency response, including sending SWAT teams to manage hot spots across the continent and deliver personal protective equipment and treatments such as dexamethasone.

July 28, 2021: Cheikh Oumar Seydi, the foundation’s Africa director, urges support for African regional institutions in their efforts against the virus.

July 28, 2021: Anita Zaidi, director of the foundation’s Vaccine Development & Surveillance team, highlights the importance of geographically distributed vaccine manufacturing capacity to better ensure equitable access.

August 5, 2021: The African Union announces the start of monthly shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to member states through its African Vaccine Acquisition Trust initiative.

September 16, 2021: The European Commission launches the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to help prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to health emergencies, including to ensure the development, production, and distribution of medicines, vaccines, and other tools that were often lacking during the first phase of the coronavirus response.

September 13, 2021: In the 2021 Goalkeepers Report, Bill Gates & Melinda French Gates call for sustained investment to ensure an inclusive recovery after COVID-19.

September 22, 2021: U.S. President Joe Biden convenes a virtual Global COVID-19 Summit.

September 21, 2021: Reflecting on the 18-month milestone for COVID-19, Bill Gates calls for three key global actions to end the acute phase of the pandemic.

October 5, 2021: The failure to deliver enough vaccines to low-income countries will reverberate throughout the global economy and could cost up to US$5.3 trillion in economic losses over five years, says International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva during a talk at an Italian university.

October 13, 2021: Bill Gates notes that the lessons from COVID-19 can help the world achieve greater vaccine equity in the future.

October 19, 2021: The foundation pledges up to US$120 million to accelerate the availability of the novel antiviral therapy molnupiravir in lower-income countries, pending its authorization by regulatory authorities, and calls for other donors and partners to increase resources to scale up supply and delivery.

November 2021: South African scientists alert WHO to the fast spread in Africa of the omicron variant, previously found across Europe.

November 1, 2021: The foundation provides US$750,000 to PATH to boost supplies of oxygen in Indonesia. 

November 2, 2021: Africa CDC designates Institut Pasteur of Morocco and the Rwanda Biomedical Center as Centres of Excellence for COVID-19 vaccination.

November 4, 2021: The foundation awards US$3.9 million to Revital Healthcare, a Kenyan medical supply manufacturer, to expand the manufacture of one-use auto-disable syringes in Africa for vaccinating people against COVID-19 and other preventable diseases.

November 12, 2021: The foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and UNICEF announce a US$150 million financial guarantee to support UNICEF’s procurement of vaccines and health supplies for low- and middle-income countries.

December 19, 2021: As omicron infections rise, the Netherlands initiates a new lockdown; the UK urges the EU to avoid lockdowns.

December 21, 2021: WHO reports worldwide totals in the pandemic to date: over 273 million cases and 5.3 million deaths.

January 2022: The foundation partners with Pfizer and Medicines for All Institute, to determine whether and how to expedite the availability of Paxlovid, an antiviral COVID-19 therapy, through generic manufacturers for use in low- and middle-income countries.

January 18, 2022: The foundation and Wellcome each pledge US$150 million to CEPI for COVID-19 pandemic response and to accelerate epidemic and pandemic preparedness. The two foundations call on world leaders to support CEPI to help end the COVID-19 crisis, prepare for future pandemics, and address epidemic threats.

January 31, 2022: The journal Nature reports that the actual pandemic death toll is much higher than the official count of 5.5 million.

February 18, 2022: The Africa Report publishes a joint op-ed on the need for strong regulation of medical products in Africa by the foundation’s Africa director, Cheikh Oumar Seydi, and Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, CEO of the African Union Development Agency.

February 15, 2022: The EU, three EU member states, and the foundation jointly announce that they will mobilize more than 100 million euros over the next five years to support the recently established African Medicines Agency and other African regulatory initiatives at the regional and national levels. This strengthening of medical regulatory systems is intended to improve health security in Africa and expand the local manufacture of quality, safe, effective, and affordable medicines, vaccines, and other health tools.

February 23, 2022: Bill Gates writes about how longtime investments in fighting infectious diseases have helped mitigate the pandemic’s impact.

March 8, 2022: At the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit in London, governments, private foundations, businesses, and others commit more than US$1.5 billion to support CEPI’s five-year plan to tackle future epidemics and pandemics.

May 3, 2022: Bill Gates releases a new book, How to Prevent the Next Pandemic.

May 10, 2022: The U.S. convenes its second virtual COVID-19 Summit.

May 12, 2022: Bill Gates speaks at the virtual summit about COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness and commits up to US$125 million from the foundation to fight COVID-19 and help low- and middle-income countries improve their health systems.

May 24, 2022: At the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates participates in a panel discussion about preparing for the next pandemic.

June 22, 2022: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approves COVID-19 vaccination for children under age 5.

June 30, 2022: The World Bank approves the establishment of a financial intermediary fund to finance critical investments in global pandemic prevention.

June 30, 2022: The foundation commits US$15 million to the new pandemic preparedness financial intermediary fund as a founding donor.

June 30, 2022: The African Development Fund approves US$27.19 million grant to Ghana for skills development infrastructure to boost the country’s COVID-19 recovery efforts.

July 13, 2022: In response to the many setbacks caused by COVID-19, among other global challenges, the foundation announces that it will increase its yearly spend to US$9 billion by 2026. Bill Gates explains why in his blog.