Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates commented on anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theories during a recent speech in Canada, insisting his efforts have “saved tens of millions of lives” as protesters gathered outside the event to denounce him.
After delivering a talk on how to stop the next health crisis at the TED2022 conference in Vancouver on Tuesday, Gates addressed critics demonstrating at the venue, saying the protest was “somewhat ironic.”
“The Gates Foundation is very involved in vaccines, the invention of new vaccines, funding vaccines,” he said, according to Insider, arguing that his organization had “saved tens of millions of lives.”
“So it’s somewhat ironic to have somebody turn around and say we’re using vaccines to kill people or to make money or we started the [Covid-19] pandemic,” Gates continued.
A web page for the TED conference noted that Gates would discuss “what’s it’s been like to become the subject of conspiracy theories,” as the billionaire is at the center of a number of novel claims linked to vaccines and the coronavirus outbreak.