“This is not the last pandemic. Next possibly more deadly” – Wel.nl

The coronavirus will not be the last virus to plague the world. The next pandemic may be even more deadly. That is what the developer of the AstraZeneca vaccine says during a lecture.

While the world waits in terror for what the omikron variant will bring us, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert warns that ‘this pandemic is clearly not done with us’ and that ‘the next one could be worse’.

“This won’t be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our society,” she said during the 44th Richard Dimbleby Lecture, broadcast on the BBC on Monday. “The truth is, the next one could be worse. The virus could be more contagious or deadly, or both.”

Gilbert is a vaccinology professor at Oxford University and developed the AstraZeneca vaccine with her team. She emphasizes that the knowledge gained should not be lost. “Just as we invest in the military, security services and diplomacy to prevent war, we must invest in people, research and manufacturing capacity to defend against pandemics.”

Gilbert said of the new variant that it is already known to contain mutations that increase the transmissibility of the virus and that the antibodies generated by the vaccine may be less effective, but she also emphasizes that reduced protection against infection certainly does not mean that there is also less protection against serious illness and death. “But until we know more, we have to be careful and take steps to stop the spread of the new variant.”