What Will the World Look Like After COVID-19?

With COVID-19 deaths spiking past a quarter million in the United States, the prospect of vaccines allows people to ponder post-pandemic life.

Bill Gates hopes that vaccines in development in November 2020 may prevent a projected doubling of deaths over the winter. He notes that the economic damage is more severe than he anticipated, and that schools will need to work hard to catch kids up on learning. On the bright side, effective vaccines are on the horizon, which should lower the total number of deaths.

Rashida Jones wonders whether Americans will continue to wear masks after the pandemic ends. She points out that people have gotten used to the convenience of doing video meetings instead of driving across town through bad traffic, or traveling to another city. Gates agrees, adding that in the future, companies might need to maintain fewer offices, or build shared spaces.

Jones wonders when people will no longer feel scared to go to restaurants and movies. Gates thinks people may continue to be more reserved in their behavior for quite a while, as long as the virus continues to spread in the larger world.

Dr. Anthony Fauci interjects that there are...