Covid vaccine developer among honours for pandemic heroes
THE boss of Astrazeneca said he was “truly humbled” to be given a knighthood after his company developed one of the first Covid-19 vaccines with Oxford University.
Pascal Soriot was one of more than 100 people honoured for their part in the pandemic response. Together they make up more than 10 per cent of the Queen’s birthday honours list.
The French-born chief executive has Australian nationality, meaning he is eligible for a full knighthood as a citizen of a Commonwealth realm and can use the title “Sir”. He was honoured for services to UK life sciences and the response to Covid.
Sir Pascal said: “I am truly humbled by this recognition.”
He has been the head of Astrazeneca since 2012 and presided over the company’s development, with Oxford University, of the vaccine that was approved in December 2020 and became one of the world’s first to be deployed.
A knighthood also goes to Prof Aziz Sheikh, chairman of primary care research and development at the University of Edinburgh, for services to Covid-19 research and policy after he and his team became the first to reveal that the omicron variant was less severe and resulted in fewer hospital cases.
Prof Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director since 2018 and a doctor for 25 years, is knighted for his services to the NHS, and the Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May, the lead for the nursing, midwifery and care professions in England, has been given a damehood for services to nursing, midwifery and the NHS over 37 years since she became a nurse in 1985.
Sir Stephen and Dame Ruth became familiar faces to the public through their appearances at the No10 press briefings during the pandemic.
Sir Stephen said: “This award reflects the passion, focus and sheer determination of NHS staff during the pandemic, as we tackled the biggest health threat of a generation.”
Dame Ruth said: “I have never been prouder to be a nurse and choosing to dedicate my career to working in the NHS has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
Also getting a knighthood is Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). He has been made a Sir after becoming the first RCP president to continue carrying out clinical work and be on call at weekends.
A British Empire Medal also goes to Maria Hewitt, from Paisley, Scotland, who became a vaccinator because she felt she “had to do something to help” after her husband John contracted Covid and died in hospital in June 2020.