British vaccinologist warns about next pandemic

OXFORD: Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, Co-founder of Vaccitech, had recently cautioned that future pandemics might be far more deadly than the contemporary COVID-19.

Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, who delivered the 44th Richard Dimbleby Lecture, stated additional funds for pandemic preparation were essential to circumvent the circumstances of human destruction from the pandemic. From her point of view, immunisation may be less potent against the Omicron variant.

According to Dame Sarah, people should remain wary until the availability of additional information. She claimed that this wasn't the first time a virus had jeopardised human lives and livelihoods. According to her, the reality was that the next one might be far worse. It might be more infectious, more fatal, or both simultaneously. 

She asserted that the Omicron variant's spike protein included changes that increased the virus's transmissibility. She further claimed, "But as we have seen before, reduced protection against infection and mild disease does not necessarily mean reduced protection against severe disease and death."