It is certain that Bill Gates will once again receive a lot of criticism from his detractors.
Fans of conspiracy theories will rejoice because they now have new material to feed their false and imaginary theories about him. Gates, 67, is now accustomed to being called names. The plotters see in him one of the masters of the world.
But the billionaire seems to act as if all these doomsayers didn't exist.
The co-founder of Microsoft (MSFT) has just launched a new call to invest in new vaccines and improve existing vaccines in order to contain or even eradicate deadly diseases. This call came during the World Immunization Week.
More Outbreaks of Deadly Diseases
"The connection is clear: when vaccine coverage goes down, we see more outbreaks of deadly diseases," the billionaire posted on Twitter on April 27, using the hashtag #VaccinesWork. "That’s why we must strengthen health systems and invest in new & improved vaccines."
Gates' appeal echoes a campaign by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, of which he shared the 30-second video clip.
"Due to the pandemic, we've seen the largest continued backslide and vaccinations in three decades. This puts children and communities at risk," the campaign said. "Vaccines are critical to preventing harmful diseases.
"In 2021, 25 million children missed one or more basic childhood vaccines. Because of this, we're seeing outbreaks of diseases like measles, diphtheria and polio. We need to get back on track and help protect the next generation. Vaccines work, " the campaign continued.
The next day, Gates redoubled his efforts, repeating that a widespread immunization can eradicate polio for example.
"To #EndPolio, we must immunize the world's most vulnerable children—especially those who have not been vaccinated before," the billionaire said on Twitter on April 28. "Protecting ‘zero-dose’ children against paralysis with polio vaccines like nOPV2 will help usher in a healthier future for us all."
The tweet was a comment to a message and campaign from Rotary International that indicated that there are currently nearly 700 million children under the age of five in the world and that it is important to have each of them vaccinated against polio, a disease that makes you physically handicapped when it doesn't kill. Rotary has led an international polio eradication campaign for decades.
"There are roughly 678,290,000 children under age five worldwide. But what’s so important about being five?" the organization posted on Twitter. "#VaccinesWork, and it’s crucial we reach every child with the #polio vaccine."
Conspiracy Theories
Polio is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that mainly affects children under 5 years old. While there is no cure, the disease is preventable with a vaccine. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water.
There is no doubt that this general mobilization for vaccination will again make Gates the subject of conspiracies of all types as anti-vaccine advocates have regained strength since the end of the restrictions against covid.
From the start of the covid-19 pandemic, millions of conspiratorial messages have spread across the internet, fueling misinformation about the coronavirus, its origins and the motivations of those, including Gates, working to combat it.
Gates has pledged to support vaccine makers and dedicate at least $1.75 billion to the global response to the covid-19 pandemic. The philanthropist then became the target of falsehoods and fantasies. For some conspiracy theorists, Gates launched the pandemic, planned to vaccinate the world's population, and even organized a health genocide and a general reduction of Earth's inhabitants.
One particularly absurd bit about Gates that kept circulating on social media is that the billionaire intends to implant 5G chips with the vaccine against covid-19.
Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft in 2000 and gave up his board seat in 2020.
A large part of his post-Microsoft life has been dedicated to running the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was launched in 2000. Last year, Gates said he planned to give virtually all of his wealth to the foundation, and eventually give up his spot on the world's richest people list, saying he had "an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives."
