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science in the news

Although Omicron is milder than first feared, there is a failure of political imagination when it comes to the implications for pandemic preparedness. Roger Highfield, Science Director, looks beyond Omicron with the government’s influential life sciences advisor, Sir John Bell.

How should we prepare for the next pandemic? Our Science Director, Roger Highfield, talks about an extraordinary new proposal with Dr Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer of CEPI, the world’s largest vaccine development initiative.

The pandemic has alerted the world to the threat of airborne disease. A new study has shown the value of clean air, and also how filtration can curb antibiotic resistance in hospitals. Our Science Director Roger Highfield talks to Cambridge based intensive care consultant, Vilas Navapurkar about its findings.

Mutant versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have set off alarms worldwide. Science Director Roger Highfield talks to one of the laboratories racing to find out what these variants mean for COVID-19 transmissibility and virulence, along with the development of drugs and vaccines.

The UK is the first country in the world to give temporary authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency pandemic use.

This is a new kind of vaccine, based on RNA, and the first approved for use in humans. Roger Highfield, Science Director, talks to Dr Berkeley Phillips, UK Medical Director of Pfizer.

Details of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine are published today, showing encouraging efficacy and some puzzling features. Science Director, Roger Highfield, talks to the trial’s Chief Investigator about the vaccine, trial regulation and a surprising bonus result.