BILL Gates said "rich countries" could get back to normal by the end of 2021 – but only if a Covid-19 vaccine is approved.

Gates, 64, said on Tuesday that some nations could get back to their normal lives if the cure works, is ready soon, and it's easily distributable.

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Speaking to The Wall Street Journal CEO Council, he said: “By late next year you can have things going back pretty close to normal – that’s the best case.

“We still don’t know whether these vaccines will succeed.

“Now the capacity will take time to ramp up. And so the allocation within the US and between the US and other countries will be a very top point of contention.”

Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca/Oxford University are two of the leading candidates in the vaccine approval race, reported Reuters.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization said one could be ready by the end of this year as the world contends.

Meanwhile, Gates recently slammed the Trump administration for its Covid-19 response, citing “a variety of early missteps by the US."

The vocal Microsoft mogul also branded Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a "knucklehead" for saying he'll refuse to take the vaccine.

Gates himself has donated $36billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an organization that focuses on addressing poverty and improving healthcare.

Gates revealed that is has signed with 16 pharmaceutical companies committed to ramping up manufacturing at an unprecedented speed and ensuring broad distribution of the vaccine when it's ready.

In, Russia, mass public vaccinations are underway alongside the main human trial, leaving many experts concerned.

“We’re also talking with Russia and China,” Gates said. “None of their vaccines are in a Phase III trial with a highly regarded regulator overseeing that trial.”

He argued that the Russian and Chinese vaccines were valid projects.

But Gates acknowledged that leaving out a Phase III study could inhibit their appeal outside those countries.

He said: “The Western companies are further ahead on doing these Phase III studies.

"So if those come out well and they’re offered at low cost, I doubt there’ll be a lot of Russian or Chinese vaccines going outside of those countries.

He said in the USA, we should be "thinking about which voices will help reduce the hesitancy."

Gates said South Korea and Australia did the best job of balancing the economic competition with health.

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