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Future pandemics could be more destructive to humanity than the current Covid issue, according to the scientist who developed the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine Covishield, which is used in India to guard against COVID-19.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, also cautioned that vaccines may be less effective against the new Omicron variant, but added that decreased protection against infection and mild disease did not necessarily imply reduced protection against severe illness and death.
Gilbert, who was named a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for her crucial role in the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, said additional money for pandemic preparedness is essential to avoid the field’s gains being lost.
“This isn’t the last time a virus has put our lives and livelihoods in jeopardy. The truth is that the next one might be even worse. It may be more contagious, or it could be more dangerous, or it could be both “Prof. Gilbert expressed his thoughts.
“We cannot allow a situation to arise in which we have gone through everything and yet have no financing for pandemic preparedness due to the massive economic losses we have suffered. We must not lose the progress we’ve achieved or the information we’ve gained “she explained.
She claimed that the spike protein of the Omicron form of the novel coronavirus contained changes that increased the virus’s transmissibility.
“However, there are other alterations that could make vaccine-generated antibodies or antibodies induced by infection with other variations less efficient at preventing Omicron infection. We should be cautious until additional information becomes available, and we should take actions to slow the spread of this new variation “she expressed herself.
“However, as we’ve observed before, decreased protection against infection and mild disease does not always imply lower protection against severe disease and death,” she continued.
Before joining COVID-19, Gilbert spent more than a decade creating vaccines based on malaria and influenza antigens. The 59-year-old expert was addressing the BBC’s 44th Richard Dimbleby Lecture, which is delivered every year by notable speakers in honour of a veteran British journalist and broadcaster.
The UK reported 86 additional instances of the novel Omicron type, which was initially discovered in South Africa bringing the total number of Omicron cases in the UK to 246. In the meantime, the daily UK government coronavirus tally revealed 43,992 COVID cases and 54 deaths.
