Forget Covid, another deadly pandemic awaits humanity: Oxford vaccine creator

It was in late 2019 that the first case of Covid infection hit Wuhan, China. The virus soon spread like a wildfire, and it emerged as a global pandemic, thus pulling the entire planet to a state of shutdown. Months after the outbreak, several vaccines were made to combat the spread of the pandemic. However, even now, new variants of the pandemic are coming, and the latest one is Omicron, which is expected to be more transmissible than the Delta variant. And now, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, the Oxford vaccine creator has warned that the next pandemic that could hit planet earth will be more lethal than the Covid outbreak. 

Lethal pandemic awaits humanity 

It should be noted that the Covid pandemic has already killed more than five million people worldwide, which means the upcoming pandemic will kill more people, and if it happens, the entire world may turn into a cemetery. 

"This will not 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 lethal, or both," said Gilbert during the  44th Richard Dimbleby Lecture. 

Gilbert talks about the new Omicron variant 

Gilbert revealed that the new variants of Covid including Omicron could be more transmissible, and may evade the immunity offered by vaccines. However, she asserted that the severity of the disease can be reduced drastically using vaccines. 

"Until we know more, we should be cautious, and take steps to slow down the spread of this new variant," added Gilbert. 

However, US president Joe Biden's chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci said that it is too early to draw definitive conclusions about the Omicron variant. He made it clear that initial observations are encouraging, and suggested that hospitalizations are less among people infected with the Omicron variant.