Oxford COVID-19 vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert gets standing ovation at Wimbledon; watch

The schedule for day one of Wimbledon was filled with action, including matches of defending champion Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, but the fans who cheered the loudest were seated outside the court. On the first day of the grand slam, Professor Sarah Gilbert, who invented the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccination for COVID-19, and the workers of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom received a standing ovation.

Individuals and representatives of organizations that have significantly contributed to the nation's battle to the pandemic and made the tournament possible, according to the announcer, have been invited to the exclusive Royal Box at the Centre Court for the next fortnight.

Sarah Gilbert receives a standing ovation at Wimbledon Centre

As the audience began to clap, the announcer remarked, "Today they include leaders who have developed the anti-Covid vaccination, NHS." As more individuals rose to their feet, the claps became louder. Professor Gilbert can be seen smiling in the Royal Box in a video shared by Wimbledon's official account.

The narrator went on to list NHS clinical trial leaders, as well as individuals involved in critical care, nursing staff, and community workers. Captain Sir Tom Moore, who won hearts with a COVID fundraising drive before succumbing to the virus in February, was also honoured on the occasion.

He became a national hero when he challenged himself to walk 100 laps of his lawn as he approached his 100th birthday, raising 33 million pounds for the NHS. He sadly passed away in February of this year, but we are thrilled to have one of Captain Sir Tom Moore's children with us today, the announcer remarked as the audience erupted in another round of applause.

Sarah Gilbert

Dame Sarah Catherine Gilbert DBE (born April 1962) is a British vaccinologist and co-founder of Vaccitech. She is the Saïd Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford. Gilbert specialized in the development of influenza and emerging viral disease vaccines. She was in charge of the universal flu vaccine's development and testing, which began in 2011 with clinical trials. The Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which she co-developed with the Oxford Vaccine Group, was authorized for use in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2020.

Picture Credit: Twitter @Wimbledon