As the Covid pandemic continues, an expert on the virus has warned that the world could face a future pandemic more 'contagious and lethal'.
In a recent lecture, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert said: "This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods."
According to Birmingham Live, she continued: "The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more lethal, or both."
She added: "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.
"The advances we have made, and the knowledge we have gained, must not be lost."
On the Omicron variant, she said: "The spike protein of this variant contains mutations already known to increase transmissibility of the virus.
"But there are additional changes that may mean antibodies induced by the vaccines, or by infection with other variants, may be less effective at preventing infection with Omicron.
"Until we know more, we should be cautious, and take steps to slow down the spread of this new variant.
"But as we have seen before, reduced protection against infection and mild disease does not necessarily mean reduced protection against severe disease and death.”
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