Award recognition for Astra-Zeneca jab researchers

Research teams at Oxford University who joined forces to fight coronavirus by developing a Covid vaccine are among the winners of this year’s NHS Parliamentary Awards.

The awards, arranged by the NHS, are designed to recognise, and celebrate some of the biggest achievements in health and social care.

Those who created the jab were among nine other winners announced during a ceremony opened by the Prime Minister on 7 July. Over 65 million vaccinations have been delivered by the NHS since making history when Margaret Keenan received the first jab outside of a clinical trial in Coventry, just over 200 days ago.

The winners have been selected from more than 700 nominations and were judged by a national panel made up of senior leaders representing both staff and patients.

Others to scoop a prize included a neonatal team in London who created a live-stream for parents to see their babies 24/7 during visiting restrictions, the team behind ‘pop up’ clinics to diagnose and treat Hepatitis C among homeless people in Leeds, and a team in Birmingham that created a Critical Care Family Liaison service to help hundreds of patients in intensive care keep in touch with their families during the pandemic.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said: “On behalf of our whole country, I’d like to offer a huge thank you to every one of our NHS and social care workers. We cherish the extraordinary devotion of all those who serve – the army of doctors and nurses, ambulance crews, cleaners, porters, physios, radiographers pharmacists, midwives, maternity assistants and so many more – you’ve kept coming to work and kept yourselves in harm’s way to save thousands of lives throughout this pandemic.

“These awards are so important because they tell the story of that extraordinary service, 24 hours a day, every second of every hour. From pioneering the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, delivering the fastest and biggest immunisation programme in our history, to comforting worried relatives unable to visit their loved ones and delivering virtual remote care for many in our communities, these awards celebrate the innovation and compassion with which you met unique challenges of this moment.

“I’m grateful to my fellow MPs on all sides of the house for the fantastic nominations submitted and to everyone who has worked so hard to put these awards together, but most of all I’m grateful to the people who make our NHS what it is – the beating heart of Britain.”