Grey t-shirt with 'BAD ELF' graphic, worn by Professor Teresa (Tess) Lambe during the initial development of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, January 2020

‘When I started designing the vaccine it felt like a normal day. I don’t think it had dawned on my how significant this work would become. The team worked incredibly hard, really long hours; days blurred together, but we all kept going. We hoped what we were doing could make a difference. When the efficacy results came out we were exhausted, proud, relived and hopeful – hopeful that the vaccine would help to keep people safe and get us out of the pandemic.’ Tess Lambe

Once the genetic code of COVID-19 was released on 12 January 2020, scientists including Tess Lambe, Professor of Vaccinology & Immunology at the University of Oxford, immediately set to work, on designing a vaccine. Over the course of a weekend, sitting at home in her ‘Bad Elf’ T-shirt and drinking numerous cups of tea, Tess worked with her team and drew on their decades worth of work as part of the Oxford Vaccine Group. Tess co-designed the vaccine, led the pre-clinical studies and provided evidence for the vaccine’s UK regulatory approval. On 30 April 2020, Oxford University signed a deal with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to mass-produce the vaccine. This included a clause that no profit would be made from providing the vaccine to low-income countries. Over 3 billion doses have been delivered worldwide.

In 2021, Professor Lambe was awarded an OBE for services to Science and Public Health, alongside many of her colleagues.