Rich world could be close to normal by late 2021 if vaccine works - Bill Gates

FILE PHOTO: Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; attends a panel discussion on Building Human Capital during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Rich countries could be back to close to normal by late 2021 if a COVID-19 vaccine works, is ready soon and distributed properly at scale, billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates said on Tuesday.

"By late next year you can have things going back pretty close to normal - that's the best case," Gates, 64, told The Wall Street Journal CEO Council.