A Barbie doll to honour the woman who led the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab to fight Covid-19 has been created.
Toy company Mattel chose Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert as one of the five frontline women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) to base five new Barbie models on.
Dame Gilbert said she found the gesture "very strange" but hopes it will encourage girls to pursue a career in science.
“I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of girls into Stem careers and hope that children who see my Barbie will realise how vital careers in science are to help the world around us,” she said.
“My wish is that my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist.”
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As well as the likeness of Dame Sarah, the toy company has created models in honour of five other women working in Stem around the world.
They include US healthcare workers Amy O’Sullivan and Dr Audrey Cruz, Canadian doctor and campaigner Dr Chika Stacy Oriuwa, Brazilian biomedical researcher Dr Jaqueline Goes de Jesus and Dr Kirby White, an Australian medic who co-created a reusable gown for frontline staff.
Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global head of Barbie & dolls at Mattel, said: “Barbie recognises that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened.
“To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie’s platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back.
“Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes.”
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To the joy of millions of Brits longing for the pandemic to end so life could get finally back to normal, the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was the second to be approved in the UK in December after the Pfizer jab.
It is one of the four vaccines that have been approved in the UK, along with Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca jab has played an integral part in the successful rollout of Britain's biggest immunisation programme in history.
A total of 88.7 per cent of the adult population have received the first dose of a Covid jab, while the number of adults with two doses accounts for 73 per cent.
It comes as the government is tipped to announce the rollout will start extending to kids too so they can be vaccinated by the time they return to school.
