7 ms·

Gates Foundation will commit 'total attention' to coronavirus pandemic

50 points by 80mph 6y ago

sunstone 6y ago
It's not on the Gates' Foundation radar but how about a very high quality, matching set of mask and glasses/goggles? Costing about $30. The mask is reusable and the glasses fit very close to the skin around the eyes...perhaps even with a neoprene apron that seals against the face and the mask. It would also stop your hands from easily and unconsciously touching your eyes, nose and mouth. The idea here is that, in public, it protects the wearer against others and protects others from the wearer. If widely adopted this gear would vastly reduce the cost of the "test and track" effort and everyone would just feel safer in public. This virus is unlikely to be going away any time soon. Some say it will be with us for a "very long time" because even a vaccine is likely to be effective only over the short term and therefore the "herd immunity" will never really take place. We need to get serious about the long term strategy. This could be a one cheap, quick and effective tactic for reopening.
- Stierlitz 6y ago
  Interesting .. > It's not on the Gates' Foundation radar but how about a very high quality, matching set of mask and glasses/goggles? Costing about $30. > The mask is reusable and the glasses fit very close to the skin around the eyes...perhaps even with a neoprene apron that seals against the face and the mask. It would also stop your hands from easily and unconsciously touching your eyes, nose and mouth. > The idea here is that, in public, it protects the wearer against others and protects others from the wearer. If widely adopted this gear would vastly reduce the cost of the "test and track" effort and everyone would just feel safer in public. > This virus is unlikely to be going away any time soon. Some say it will be with us for a "very long time" because even a vaccine is likely to be effective only over the short term and therefore the "herd immunity" will never really take place. We need to get serious about the long term strategy. This could be a one cheap, quick and effective tactic for reopening.
  - sunstone 6y ago
    For the record, I see that Hong Kong is taking this approach, at least with the reusable masks, one for every citizen.
pcdoodle 6y ago
Gates is loving the attention he's getting from this. I hate the guy personally.
- sveng 6y ago
  Since its inception, the Gates Foundation has made total grant payments in excess of $50 billion. I’d say that deserves attention.
  - bagacrap 6y ago
    As a thought experiment, if you loved positive attention and had more money than one man could privately spend in 100 lifetimes, what would you do with your resources?
- Zenbit_UX 6y ago
  Why do you hate him?
- skuthus 6y ago
  I cannot imagine seeing someone be so unilaterally altruistic and still hating them. Why do you feel they are deserving of your hate?
  - jjeaff 6y ago
    Past sins, perhaps? I personally feel that Gates has done plenty to atone. But maybe others aren't so forgiving. I might feel differently if my company and livelihood had been destroyed by the heavy-handed tactics of 1990s Microsoft.
    - mrscottson 6y ago
      "The bigger the charity, the guiltier the conscience..." Makes me wonder what the last generation of Gates did to these people he is now so intent on "helping".
  - unsupervisedluv 6y ago
csense 6y ago
Bill Gates has been pushing a rather creepy idea since the pandemic started: Have the government tattoo identity information into everyone's skin [1]. Pretty dystopian stuff. This is literally what the Nazis did to the Jews. I'm surprised Mr. Gates apparently isn't smart enough to see why encouraging this sort of thing is a real bad idea. [1] https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fksnbf/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_bill_melinda_gates/fkupg49/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fksnbf/im_bill...
- skuthus 6y ago
  I am shocked an appalled to see that there is an anti-vaxx undertone present on HN. A simple google search reveals that this information is false. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-gates-id2020/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-gates-id2020/ Please, @csense - this is only a digital certificate, one which is clearly designed not to actively track someone, but to provide much needed medical info in 3rd world countries who don't have the infrastructure to store vaccination records across borders. Personally, I think you should be ashamed of making such a disingenuous connection.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - gccxsse 6y ago
    Do you really want to be injected with a highly rushed vaccine that hasn't been tested for longterm side effects? Remember when they were putting asbestos into everything? Or when they were spraying neighborhoods with 'harmless' insecticides? Or when companies fudge results to pass regulations or performance specs. The world is not very different from where it was 50 years ago. I would rather get the rona than get an unproven vaccine.
    - skuthus 6y ago
      I am confused - Before we were talking about ID2020, now suddenly it is about vaccines? And from a 12-day old account, no less. A quick look at your comment history tells me you are only here to bridage the site with anti-vaxx messaging.
socalnate1 6y ago
This is great news, I'm glad the Mr. Gates has decided to orient his foundation and efforts towards this. If we as a society don't get our arms around this pandemic, the other things Mr. Gates cares won't be solved either.
pdubs1 6y ago
Has anyone noticed how dissent in this thread has been flagged and quashed we must ask ourselves why what are they trying to hide
- wbronitsky 6y ago
  You’re shadowbanned, just FYI Edit: you’re not understanding me. People on HN cannot see your posts unless someone vouches for them. I vouched for 2, but I can now see that was a mistake and you are shadowbanned for a reason, and that is because you are acting like a jerk.
  - pdubs1 6y ago
    you're joking right? if I was shadowbanned you wouldn't have replied, as my comment would be hidden... edit your edit does not make sense. what do you mean "vouch"? sounds like you're making stuff up
  - pdubs1 6y ago
    >" you are acting like a jerk." you are acting like an intellectual weakling who resorts to ad hominems. constructive criticism = jerk, only in the mind of a a person behaving as a sensitive weakling.
    - wbronitsky 6y ago
      Just so we can all see what is going on here, I’ve vouched for you one last time. I believe the way shadowbanning works here is that your account is in a state where most people cannot see or reply to your comments. If someone chooses to see [dead] comments, which is a bit on their profile, they can “vouch” for such comments. They then seem to be reply-able and visible to all. I was trying to explain something about your account state to you that you could not see yourself, as I saw some merit in your posts. I was mistaken in doing that and this is the last time I’ll interact with you. A thought: if after 9 hours you are still bothered by something someone you will never, ever meet or know, has said in a comment on the internet, a change of perspective could be helpful. Have a good day, pdubs1

50 points by 80mph 6y ago

It's not on the Gates' Foundation radar but how about a very high quality, matching set of mask and glasses/goggles? Costing about $30. The mask is reusable and the glasses fit very close to the skin around the eyes...perhaps even with a neoprene apron that seals against the face and the mask. It would also stop your hands from easily and unconsciously touching your eyes, nose and mouth. The idea here is that, in public, it protects the wearer against others and protects others from the wearer. If widely adopted this gear would vastly reduce the cost of the "test and track" effort and everyone would just feel safer in public. This virus is unlikely to be going away any time soon. Some say it will be with us for a "very long time" because even a vaccine is likely to be effective only over the short term and therefore the "herd immunity" will never really take place. We need to get serious about the long term strategy. This could be a one cheap, quick and effective tactic for reopening.

Stierlitz 6y ago
Interesting .. > It's not on the Gates' Foundation radar but how about a very high quality, matching set of mask and glasses/goggles? Costing about $30. > The mask is reusable and the glasses fit very close to the skin around the eyes...perhaps even with a neoprene apron that seals against the face and the mask. It would also stop your hands from easily and unconsciously touching your eyes, nose and mouth. > The idea here is that, in public, it protects the wearer against others and protects others from the wearer. If widely adopted this gear would vastly reduce the cost of the "test and track" effort and everyone would just feel safer in public. > This virus is unlikely to be going away any time soon. Some say it will be with us for a "very long time" because even a vaccine is likely to be effective only over the short term and therefore the "herd immunity" will never really take place. We need to get serious about the long term strategy. This could be a one cheap, quick and effective tactic for reopening.
- sunstone 6y ago
  For the record, I see that Hong Kong is taking this approach, at least with the reusable masks, one for every citizen.

pcdoodle 6y ago

Gates is loving the attention he's getting from this. I hate the guy personally.

sveng 6y ago
Since its inception, the Gates Foundation has made total grant payments in excess of $50 billion. I’d say that deserves attention.
- bagacrap 6y ago
  As a thought experiment, if you loved positive attention and had more money than one man could privately spend in 100 lifetimes, what would you do with your resources?
Zenbit_UX 6y ago
Why do you hate him?
skuthus 6y ago
I cannot imagine seeing someone be so unilaterally altruistic and still hating them. Why do you feel they are deserving of your hate?
- jjeaff 6y ago
  Past sins, perhaps? I personally feel that Gates has done plenty to atone. But maybe others aren't so forgiving. I might feel differently if my company and livelihood had been destroyed by the heavy-handed tactics of 1990s Microsoft.
  - mrscottson 6y ago
    "The bigger the charity, the guiltier the conscience..." Makes me wonder what the last generation of Gates did to these people he is now so intent on "helping".
- unsupervisedluv 6y ago

csense 6y ago

Bill Gates has been pushing a rather creepy idea since the pandemic started: Have the government tattoo identity information into everyone's skin [1]. Pretty dystopian stuff. This is literally what the Nazis did to the Jews. I'm surprised Mr. Gates apparently isn't smart enough to see why encouraging this sort of thing is a real bad idea. [1] https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fksnbf/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_bill_melinda_gates/fkupg49/ https://old.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fksnbf/im_bill...

skuthus 6y ago
I am shocked an appalled to see that there is an anti-vaxx undertone present on HN. A simple google search reveals that this information is false. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-gates-id2020/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-gates-id2020/ Please, @csense - this is only a digital certificate, one which is clearly designed not to actively track someone, but to provide much needed medical info in 3rd world countries who don't have the infrastructure to store vaccination records across borders. Personally, I think you should be ashamed of making such a disingenuous connection.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- gccxsse 6y ago
  Do you really want to be injected with a highly rushed vaccine that hasn't been tested for longterm side effects? Remember when they were putting asbestos into everything? Or when they were spraying neighborhoods with 'harmless' insecticides? Or when companies fudge results to pass regulations or performance specs. The world is not very different from where it was 50 years ago. I would rather get the rona than get an unproven vaccine.
  - skuthus 6y ago
    I am confused - Before we were talking about ID2020, now suddenly it is about vaccines? And from a 12-day old account, no less. A quick look at your comment history tells me you are only here to bridage the site with anti-vaxx messaging.

socalnate1 6y ago

This is great news, I'm glad the Mr. Gates has decided to orient his foundation and efforts towards this. If we as a society don't get our arms around this pandemic, the other things Mr. Gates cares won't be solved either.

pdubs1 6y ago

Has anyone noticed how dissent in this thread has been flagged and quashed we must ask ourselves why what are they trying to hide

wbronitsky 6y ago
You’re shadowbanned, just FYI Edit: you’re not understanding me. People on HN cannot see your posts unless someone vouches for them. I vouched for 2, but I can now see that was a mistake and you are shadowbanned for a reason, and that is because you are acting like a jerk.
- pdubs1 6y ago
  you're joking right? if I was shadowbanned you wouldn't have replied, as my comment would be hidden... edit your edit does not make sense. what do you mean "vouch"? sounds like you're making stuff up
- pdubs1 6y ago
  >" you are acting like a jerk." you are acting like an intellectual weakling who resorts to ad hominems. constructive criticism = jerk, only in the mind of a a person behaving as a sensitive weakling.
  - wbronitsky 6y ago
    Just so we can all see what is going on here, I’ve vouched for you one last time. I believe the way shadowbanning works here is that your account is in a state where most people cannot see or reply to your comments. If someone chooses to see [dead] comments, which is a bit on their profile, they can “vouch” for such comments. They then seem to be reply-able and visible to all. I was trying to explain something about your account state to you that you could not see yourself, as I saw some merit in your posts. I was mistaken in doing that and this is the last time I’ll interact with you. A thought: if after 9 hours you are still bothered by something someone you will never, ever meet or know, has said in a comment on the internet, a change of perspective could be helpful. Have a good day, pdubs1