The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t entirely behind us yet. The rising number of cases across the world due to the Omnicron variant has led to concern, though politicians have stated that they are more prepared now than when the pandemic initially began.
Unfortunately, it seems that things could get worse in the future, according to one professor who worked on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. Per The Guardian, Oxford University’s Sarah Gilbert spoke at the 44th the Richard Dimbleby lecture series where she offered a prediction of what we could expect in the future, which seems rather bleak if precautions aren’t taken.
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“This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods,” she reportedly said. “And I’d like to finish on a high note, but the truth is the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious or more lethal, or both. We cannot allow a situation where we have gone through all we have gone through and then find that the enormous economic losses we have sustained mean that there is still no funding for pandemic preparedness.”
Ultimately, Gilbert preached of the dire need to be equipped with dealing with another pandemic down the line. With the science community’s quick response to creating a vaccine, Gilbert said that ahead of future pandemics, there should be a reserve fund within the budget to fuel speedier results.
“We must invest in people, research, manufacturing, and institutions to defend against pandemics,” Gilbert said.
Check the clip below.