Scientists from Oxford University, who developed the vaccine against Covid-19 together with AstraZeneca, were among the British knights on the occasion of the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, world agencies reported.
Knighthood was awarded to Sarah Gilbert of the Jenner Institute in Oxford, one of the creators of the vaccine, the director of the institute Adrian Hill, the head of the working group that tested the vaccine Andrew Pollard and Peter Horby and Martin Landry of Oxford University. tests have shown that dexamethasone can be used in the treatment of severely ill Kovid-19 patients.
Among those honored is Kate Bingham, who led the British government’s Covid-19 vaccine working group.
A total of 1,129 people received honorary titles from the monarch, 62 percent of whom were honored for their work among various communities during the pandemic.
Among them is 25-year-old Rhys Malous, awarded the British Empire Medal for his involvement in the restructuring of a Wales bottling company that produced more than one million bottles of disinfectants along with a Scottish distillery. Malows estimates that these joint efforts have disinfected nearly 81 million hands during the pandemic.
“We are not scientists, but we felt we could help people defend themselves and that is very important,” he said.
John Brownhill and Amanda Guest also received a medal from the British Empire for their Food4Heroes initiative, which delivered more than 200,000 servings of food to British health workers.
Among the winners is actor Jonathan Price, who will play the role of the late husband of the Queen Prince Philip in the final episodes of the Netflix series “The Crown”. Veteran Englebert Humperdinck also received a medal from the British Empire for his contributions to music.
Traditionally, the list of state honorees is announced twice a year – around Christmas and in June, when Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday is officially celebrated.
The winners are representatives of science, culture, sports, the public and charitable sectors and are selected from nominations made by public organizations and the government. The awards are usually presented in person by Queen Elizabeth II or a high-ranking member of the British royal family at Buckingham Palace, but the pandemic changed the ceremony. Last year, due to the pandemic, the announcement of the list of winners on the occasion of the Queen’s birthday was announced in October.
The Order of the British Empire was founded in 1917 by King George V. The award has five degrees – Knight of the Order of the British Empire, Officer of the Order, followed by Commander, Knights and Ladies Commanders and Knights and Ladies of the Grand Cross of the Order. The last two categories entitle their holders to add the titles “sir” and “lady” to their names.
