INSPIRING WOMEN DURING COVID-19

INSPIRING WOMEN DURING COVID-19

The lives of people globally have been hugely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to take a moment to celebrate some of the smart, hard-working and amazingly inspiring women that without which we would definitely be in a much worse position.

Katalin Kariko is a Hungarian biochemist. Her research into MRNA, the basis for the Covid vaccine, helped to pave the way for both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

Professor Sarah Gilbert is the co-creator of the Oxford/Astra-Zeneca vaccination, with millions of doses administered across the world. Her work to race against the virus has prevented deaths and serious complications from the virus for many individuals.

Teresa Lambe is an Irish Scientist who helped to co-develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. She has previously worked upon multiple vaccines, including those for MERS, Ebola and Nipah virus.

Jacinda Ardern is the current Prime Minister of New Zealand, with her proactive work during the pandemic being highly commended. She quickly organised lockdowns to ensure the swift curbing of the spread of the virus.

Kathryn Jansen is the head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, producing the Pfizer-BioTech COVID-19 vaccine. Previously, Jansen has led the development of the HPV vaccine.

Known as the “Afghan Dreamers”, Afghanistan’s all-girl robotics team helped significantly during the pandemic by making mechanised, hand-operated ventilators out of car parts. The girls created the ventilators using a design from M.I.T and parts from old Toyoto Corollas. In light of recent events, it is even more imperative to highlight the achievements of young girls in the face of adversity.