“This won't be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods.
The truth is, the next one could be worse.
It could be more contagious, or more deadly, or both, ”Sarah Gilbert warned in an interview with the BBC.
According to this professor at the University of Oxford, we must be able to prepare for such an eventuality.
"We must not lose, for lack of funding, the scientific progress made during this epidemic," she said, stressing the importance of research.
"We cannot allow a situation where, after going through everything we have been through, we find that the huge economic losses we have suffered mean that there is still no funding for pandemic preparedness." , she insisted.
"We must be careful"
Sarah Gilbert also returned to the Omicron variant. According to her, its "spike protein contains mutations that facilitate the transmissibility of the virus," she explained, adding: "Antibodies induced by vaccines, or by contamination by other variants, may be less effective. to prevent infection with Omicron ”. However, the British vaccine developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca could be effective against severe forms of the disease. But on this point, the professor is not sure. “Until we know more, we need to be careful and take action to slow the spread of this new variant. "
In this situation, to curb the spread of this virus, the only existing weapons, however, remain vaccination, barrier measures or even limit the movement of travelers.