Next Pandemic Could Be More Lethal than COVID, Oxford Vaccine Creator Says

A woman receives an Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination centre at Cwmbran Stadium in Cwmbran, South Wales, Britain February 17, 2021. (Reuters)
A woman receives an Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination centre at Cwmbran Stadium in Cwmbran, South Wales, Britain February 17, 2021. (Reuters)
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Next Pandemic Could Be More Lethal than COVID, Oxford Vaccine Creator Says

A woman receives an Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination centre at Cwmbran Stadium in Cwmbran, South Wales, Britain February 17, 2021. (Reuters)
A woman receives an Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination centre at Cwmbran Stadium in Cwmbran, South Wales, Britain February 17, 2021. (Reuters)

Future pandemics could be even more lethal than COVID-19 so the lessons learned from the pandemic must not be squandered, one of the creators of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine said.

"This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods," Sarah Gilbert said in the Richard Dimbleby Lecture, the BBC reported. "The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more lethal, or both."

"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," she said.

"The advances we have made, and the knowledge we have gained, must not be lost."



Iran Tells France its Nuclear Rights ‘Cannot Be Taken Away by Threats or War'

This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
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Iran Tells France its Nuclear Rights ‘Cannot Be Taken Away by Threats or War'

This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)
This photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally on Feb. 10, 2025, in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday that his country's right to pursue a civilian nuclear program cannot be taken away by war, as it traded fire with Israel for a ninth day.

"Iran has always announced that it is ready to provide guarantees and build confidence in its peaceful nuclear activities within the framework of international law," Pezeshkian told French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call, according to the official IRNA news agency.

"The rights granted to countries and nations by international law cannot be taken away from them by threats or war."