Quotes by Seth Berkley

About Seth Berkley:

Seth Franklin Berkley is a medical epidemiologist by training. He is the CEO of the GAVI Alliance and a global advocate on the power of vaccines. He is also the founder and former President and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). Graduated McBurney School, New York, 1974, he received a Bachelor of Science and medical degrees from Brown University, and trained in internal medicine at Harvard University. Berkley has been featured on the cover of Newsweek and recognized by Wired Magazine as among "The Wired 25"—a salute to dreamers, inventors, mavericks and leaders—as well as by TIME magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2009. In 2010, Fortune magazine named Berkley as one of its "Global Forum Visionaries." Speaking at the TED 2010 conference, Dr. Berkley explains how innovative vaccine design and production technologies are bringing us closer to controlling global health threats like flu and HIV.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Measles is probably the best argument for why there needs to be global health, and why we have to think about it as a global public good. Because in a sense, measles is the canary in the coal mine for immunization. It is, you know, highly transmissib...

Seth Berkley

Science is one of the comparative advantages of our knowledge-based economy, and focusing on our prowess in providing better tools to address diseases of poverty is one of the best forms of foreign aid.

Seth Berkley

The virus that causes AIDS is the trickiest pathogen scientists have ever confronted. It mutates furiously, it has decoys to evade the immune system, it attacks the very cells that are trying to fight it, and it quickly hides itself in your genome.

Seth Berkley

I was a serial monogamist.

Seth Berkley

We've actually eliminated Type II polio in the world, at least as far as we can tell.

Seth Berkley

In large part, thanks to widespread immunization, the number of young children dying each year has declined significantly, from approximately 14 million in 1979 to slightly less than eight million in 2010.

Seth Berkley

Investments in immunization yield a rate of return on a par with educating our children - and higher than nearly any other development intervention.

Seth Berkley

Healthy children are more likely to attend school and are better able to learn. Healthy workers are more productive. More productive economies mean greater stability in developing countries and improved security in the West.

Seth Berkley

You'd see little shallow graves, lined up, one after the other - babies. That's what happens when measles goes through a nutritionally deficient community. It's a horrible disease, and it spreads incredibly efficiently.

Seth Berkley

You can't stop wars to build tertiary teaching hospitals, but you can say, 'Let's stop for a couple of days to immunise the kids.' It has been done.

Seth Berkley

The return on investment in global health is tremendous, and the biggest bang for the buck comes from vaccines. Vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective health investments in history.

Seth Berkley

New vaccines are being developed all the time, which could save many more lives and dramatically improve people's health. And this goes beyond the traditional burden of childhood infectious diseases.

Seth Berkley

History will not judge HIV/AIDS kindly... the harshest words will be reserved for how the world responded, or rather failed to respond, to the epidemic.

Seth Berkley

When it comes to providing aid, developing innovations, and making bold steps that change the course of history, the United States is usually on the front lines.

Seth Berkley

Now, you might think of flu as just a really bad cold, but it can be a death sentence. Every year, 36,000 people in the United States die of seasonal flu. In the developing world, the data is much sketchier, but the death toll is almost certainly hig...

Seth Berkley

I love science, and I believe in it. I have a faith that science can solve problems and make the world a better place.

Seth Berkley

Leadership is about vision and responsibility, not power.

Seth Berkley

I wish we could have state-of-the-art hospitals in every corner of the earth... but realistically, it's going to be a while before that can happen. But we can immunise every kid on earth, and we can prevent these diseases. It's only a matter of polit...

Seth Berkley

Now, when you get a viral infection, what normally happens is it takes days or weeks for your body to fight back at full strength, and that might be too late. When you're pre-immunized, what happens is you have forces in your body pre-trained to reco...

Seth Berkley

For just a few dollars a dose, vaccines save lives and help reduce poverty. Unlike medical treatment, they provide a lifetime of protection from deadly and debilitating disease. They are safe and effective. They cut healthcare and treatment costs, re...

Seth Berkley

Author Bio

  • NameSeth Berkley
  • DescriptionAmerican businessman
  • BornOctober 18, 1956
  • ProfessionEpidemiologist