Fate of Tokyo Olympics hinges on coronavirus vaccines: Bill Gates

«I think in the next few months, we have to look at the progress we make (in distributing vaccines),» Gates, the co-founder of U.S. tech giant Microsoft Corp., said in an interview with Kyodo News. «But you know, I think it's still possible if things go well.»

«If things don't go well, that would be unfortunate, but you know, we're doing our best to help those vaccines get approved and get going for the entire world.»

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were scheduled for the summer of 2020, but were postponed due to the outbreak of the virus across the world.

Many people in Japan, which is now partially under a state of emergency, remain skeptical about hosting the sports extravaganza amid a recent resurgence of infections.

Earlier this month, Gates told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in a phone call that hosting a successful Summer Games this year would send a strong message to the rest of the world.

Gates and his wife run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has contributed $1.75 billion to support research, development and delivery of COVID-19 treatments among others.