Bill and Melinda Gates Awarded for Supporting Vaccine Development
Bill and Melinda Gates have received the International Union of Immunological Societies' award for vaccine development support, as their foundation has played an important role "in the development and distribution of vaccines against major infectious diseases that threaten mankind," the prize committee said. The AP/Nando Times reports that a senior official from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation accepted the award, a small sculpture called "The Antibody," on behalf of the couple during a ceremony at the International Congress of Immunology on Sunday in Stockholm, Sweden. In June, the foundation donated $100 million to the Global AIDS and Health Fund, and Gates has also contributed $750 million over five years to "boost global immunization efforts" (AP/Nando Times, 7/22). At the World Economic Forum in January, Gates announced a $100 million "challenge grant" to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, designed to "encourage others at the conference of global business and government leaders to contribute" to the search for an AIDS vaccine (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/29).
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