Bill Gates urged rich countries to help make the vaccine available to everyone, noting that the coronavirus pandemic has “set back” public health efforts as it has restricted food distribution and inflated prices.

In an interview with BBC World, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said richer countries including the United States had not yet done enough to ensure that vaccines will be accessible to all when it is ready for distribution. Aside from that, he pointed out that research and trials had been well-funded.

Responding to a question about vaccine conspiracy theories that have been floating around lately, the tech billionaire said he was “worried and surprised” by them. In another interview with PTI, Gates suggested that India is likely to play a major role in the manufacturing of the coronavirus vaccine.

“India is a leading vaccine producer; we need cooperation from India on manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine,” Gates told PTI. He noted that everyone wants to make a vaccine available in India as fast as possible after confirming that it is “effective and very safe.”

Moreover, Gates hopes that the COVID-19 vaccine will roll out from India next year. “It’s very likely that roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine will take place in fairly big volume (in India) sometime next year,” he explained.

Gates said he is optimistic that several COVID-19 vaccines will have the final stage by the first quarter of next year. He also noted that India’s willingness to play a major role in manufacturing vaccines, and send some of those to developing countries will be critical.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released the fourth of its annual Goalkeeper reports on Sept. 14, tracking the slow, yet steady progress the world has made toward a myriad of health-related goals set forth by the United Nations in 2015. This year was unrelentingly grim since the coronavirus pandemic scorched away years of work.