World-renowned vaccinologist awarded CBE

Wits Professor Shabir Madhi has been appointed as an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by King Charles III.

Madhi, a professor of vaccinology, received the Order in recognition of his services to science and public health in a global pandemic. He led the Oxford University-sponsored Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials in South Africa.

The professor led South Africa and the continent’s first Covid-19 vaccine trials in 2020/2021 as founder and director of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Wits Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics (Wits Vida) Research Unit. An internationally recognised leader in his field, the National Research Foundation A-rated scientist was involved in multiple clinical and serology epidemiology studies on Covid-19, in addition to his research on vaccines against other life-threatening diseases.

The first of (subsequently two) Wits University-led South African Covid-19 vaccine trials, Madhi led the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials in South Africa, in association with the University of Oxford.

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, University of Oxford, and Madhi’s UK counterpart in these Covid-19 vaccine trials, said he was delighted that Madhi had been honoured by King Charles for his remarkable contributions to global public health and particularly, for his extraordinary leadership in the mid of a global pandemic. “It has been a huge privilege for me to work alongside him and his team on the development of the globally impactful Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.”

Throughout the pandemic (2020–2022), Madhi has been an outspoken, articulate, and ardent advocate of Covid-19 vaccination, as well as for increased access to these and other vaccines in Africa.

Madhi said, “The privilege of being conferred this honour is credit to the tremendous effort of the incredible Wits Vida research team that I have the privilege of leading at Wits University – before, during and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic. As a collective, and together with colleagues at the University of Oxford and in South Africa, we are proud to have contributed scientifically to informing the public health response to the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and globally.”

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