Lessons From COVID-19 Must Not Be Wasted: Vaccine Creator Warns Future Pandemics Will Be Worse

COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over as new variants seem to arise now and then. Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, one of the creators of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, said that lessons from this pandemic should not be squandered, and nations should use them to prepare for the future pandemics that will be even worse than the current one.

Professor Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, warns during the 44th Richard Dimbleby Lecture. She also added a need for more funding for pandemic preparedness to prevent losing advancements made.

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A health worker prepares a dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Francistown, Botswana, on March 26, 2021. - Botswana rolled out Covid 19 vaccination today with the senior citizen of 55years and above. (Photo by Monirul BHUIYAN / AFP) (Photo by MONIRUL BHUIYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Vaccine Creator Also Warns About the Omicron Variant

As BBC News reported, the Omicron COVID-19 variant continues to spread, and Professor Gilbert also warns that protection from vaccination could be less against this new strain.

She said people should be cautious until scientists learn more about the Omicron variant, which the World Health Organization's (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) classified as a "variant of concern."

Furthermore, Professor Gilbert pointed out that the spike protein of the Omicron variant contained mutations that make it more contagious than other variants. There are also mutations that scientists are not sure yet that may mean antibodies from vaccines or by the infection with other variants may be less effective in protecting the person from Omicron.

Professor Gilbert says that reduced protection against the infection and mild disease does not necessarily mean that the person would also have reduced protection against the severe type. She called for rapid action and progress in vaccine and medicine efforts during the pandemic, which has now become a norm.

ALSO READ: Omicron vs. Delta COVID-19: What Makes These 2 Variants Different?

Future Pandemics Could Be Worse

The data from Johns Hopkins University showed that the novel coronavirus has already killed 5.26 million worldwide and wiped out trillions of dollars in economic output that turned everyone's lives upside down.

Reuters reported that Professor Gilbert predicted the next pandemic could be worse than COVID-19 and more contagious or lethal. She noted that the current pandemic would not be the last a virus threatens human life and livelihoods, so people should be cautious and be better prepared for the next pandemic.

More so, she emphasized that the advances made during this time should not be lost given the uneven and fragmented, and limited access to vaccines in low-income countries while the rich ones are already getting booster shots.

Professor Gilbert added that vaccine experts and developers must not now fade back into patient and under-funded obscurity, NBC News reported. The UK has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine since December 2020 and is now used by over 50 countries, although it has yet to receive approval for use in the US despite the vaccine's positive trial data.