Next Covid epidemic could be even more deadly than current epidemic, Oxford University vaccineist warns

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Next Covid epidemic could be even more deadly than current epidemic, Oxford University vaccineist warns

One of the scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid 19 vaccine warned on Monday that the next epidemic could be even more deadly than the current one.

Professor Sarah Gilbert, an Oxford University academic who won acclaim for her role in developing a safe and effective Covid 19 vaccine in less than a year, warned against complacency in tackling future threats.

This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and livelihoods, she said in a lecture at Oxford University due to be broadcast by the BBC on Monday night. The next one could be worse. She shared with news media in advance that the global epidemic shows the importance of being prepared for the next health emergency: advances we have made and the knowledge we have gained must not be lost. Gilbert said that the experts who worked to develop vaccines must not be asked to fade back into patient and under-funded obscurity.

Covid 19 has killed over 5 million people in the world, including almost 800,000 in the United States.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was approved by the U.K. in December 2020 and is currently used in more than 50 countries, but it has yet to be approved for use in the U.S. despite positive trial data.

In April, President Joe Biden pledged to send 60 million doses of the vaccine to other countries.

Gilbert said that its mutations are known to increase transmissibility, while immunities gained through vaccines or prior infection may be less effective against it, despite the fact that it has been detected in at least 16 U.S. states.

She said that reduced protection against infection and mild disease does not necessarily mean reduced protection against severe disease and death.

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told NBC News Friday that the Delta variant remains the most dominant form of the virus in the U.S., accounting for 99.9 percent of cases.

Gilbert wrote about the vaccine's development in Vaxxers: The Inside Story of the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine and the Race Against the Virus, a book co-authored with Professor Catherine Green in July.

Gilbert was speaking at the annual Richard Dimbleby Lecture, named after a pioneering BBC broadcaster who died in 1965, where an expert in business, science or politics explains a topical issue.