The disease of Covid-19 has not given truce in the world. Less, if we consider the Omicron variant preview. In this context, the British scientist Sarah Gilbert, co-creator of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus, revealed how deadly the next pandemic will be.
At this time there is an official record of more than 5 million deaths from the virus. According to data from the Ministry of Health, Mexico has exceeded 295 thousand deaths. In addition, our country is close to 4 million confirmed cases of Covid-19.
How deadly will the next pandemic be?
Sarah Gilberth, a professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, asked more investment in research to be better prepared, because a future new pandemic threatens to be “worse” than what is currently happening worldwide.
“This will not be the last time that a virus threatens our lives and livelihoods. The truth is that the next could be worse. It could be more contagious, more deadly, or both“warned the expert in a speech issued by the BBC.
According to the AFP agency, the 59-year-old British scientist, who helped create the AstraZeneca vaccine, used in more than 170 countries, will ask that scientific advances made in the fight against Covid-19 do not “get lost” due to lack of funding.
“We cannot allow a situation in which, after going through everything we have been through, we find that the enormous economic losses we have suffered mean that there are still no funds for pandemic preparedness,” he said.
What did he say about the Omicron variant?
As part of your speech, Sarah Gilbert talked about Omicron, which a few days ago alerted the Mexican Genomic Surveillance Consortium (Covigen-Mex), which keeps entities such as CDMX, Nuevo León and Jalisco by a probable variant spread.
“Omicron contains known mutations that increase the transmissibility of the virus (…) Antibodies induced by vaccines or by infection with other variants may be less effective in preventing contagion with Omicron. Until we know more, we must be prudent and take steps to stop the spread of this new variant“he recommended.
Keep reading:
Third dose of Covid-19 vaccine: MAP of states where vaccination begins
Combination of vaccines against Covid-19 could be beneficial, estimates specialist
