“The next pandemic could be worse”: AstraZeneca co-founder warns

A next pandemic is likely to be “worse”, warns on Monday the British scientist Sarah Gilbert, co-creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19, calling for investment in research to be better prepared for this eventuality.

“This won’t be the last time a virus threatens our lives and livelihoods. The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more deadly, or both,” Sarah Gilbert warns.

Be careful with Omicron variant

Sarah Gilbert also speaks about the Omicron variant, against which the United Kingdom has accelerated its vaccine booster campaign and reintroduced the compulsory wearing of the mask in transport and shops.

She explains that this variant “contains mutations already known to increase the transmissibility of the virus” and that “the antibodies induced by vaccines, or by contamination by other variants, may be less effective in preventing infection with Omicron” .

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“Until we know more, we must be careful and take measures to slow the spread of this new variant,” she added.