Next pandemic could be more lethal than Covid, warns vaccine creator

Future pandemics may be more lethal than the current Covid crisis, one of the vaccine's creators has warned. Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, who was among the creators of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine while delivering the 44th Richard Dimbleby Lecture, stated that additional funding for pandemic preparedness is necessary to avoid reversing recent progress.

Additionally, she cautioned that vaccines might be less effective against the Omicron variant.

Dame Sarah added that people should exercise caution until more information is gathered.

As she put it: "This is not the first time a virus has posed a threat to our lives and livelihoods. The reality is that the next one could be even worse. It could be more contagious, or it could be more lethal, or it could be both.

"We cannot allow a situation to develop in which we have gone through everything and still lack funding for pandemic preparedness due to the enormous economic losses we have sustained," she added.

"We must ensure that the advances we have made and the knowledge we have gained are not lost."

Concerning the Omicron variant, she stated that its spike protein contained mutations known to increase the virus's transmissibility. "However, there are additional changes that could mean that antibodies induced by vaccines or infection with other variants are less effective at preventing Omicron infection.

"Until more information becomes available, we should exercise caution and take steps to slow the spread of this novel variant."

Dame Sarah stated, however, that decreased protection against infection and mild disease does not always imply decreased protection against severe illness and death.

She also urged for the rapid progress made during the pandemic in delivering vaccines and medicines to become the norm.

There was no reason why a universal influenza vaccine could not be developed to eliminate the threat posed by influenza, she stated.