Less talk, more cash: boss of institute urges ministers to ready for new outbreaks
The Independent|July 05, 2022
The director of a new UK institute dedicated to fighting future outbreaks of infectious diseases has urged the government “to put your money where your mouth is” and invest more in pandemic preparedness.
SAMUEL LOVETT
Less talk, more cash: boss of institute urges ministers to ready for new outbreaks

The Pandemic Sciences Institute (PSI), which formally launches today, has been founded by experts at the University of Oxford to identify and better respond to pandemic threats.

One of the key aims of the institute is to help the UK and wider world to deliver diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines within 100 days of the start of the next pandemic – a key ambition unveiled by the G7 nations last year.

However, Professor Sir Peter Horby, the first director of the PSI, said there has been “a lot of political rhetoric around preventing another Covid-19 style pandemic” but warned that “what we haven't yet seen is the investment to back that rhetoric up”.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Sir Peter said: “There needs to be that investment. Currently our fundraising has mostly been from philanthropic sources, or from industry, and we're not seeing the investment that we would want from national governments – not just our own – but national governments around the world.

This story is from the July 05, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the July 05, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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