Five years ago we in the UK were in the false lull between the first wave of covid and the second, between the first variant and the second, between the first peak of covid deaths and the second, higher peak. There wasn’t a vaccine and we didn’t know when we might get one. Now it’s a memory.

But another deadly pathogen might pop up in fifty years or it might be manifesting its early stages right now.

In the final part of our three-part mini-series looking at how the resilient the UK might be in dealing with potential future crises, we’re asking…..how prepared are we to deal with the next pandemic?

Guests:
Dame Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford;
Sir Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infections and Global Health, and Director of the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford;
Malik Peiris, Emeritus Professor of Virology in the School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong

Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight, Sally Abrahams
Studio engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon