Sarah Gilbert at Wimbledon: Applause for Science

A magical moment that will make history as a record of the transition between the quarantine imposed by the pandemic and the gradual resumption of the world as we knew it before the virus. On Monday 28, at the Central Court of the All England Club, the stage of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, on the outskirts of London, nearly 10,000 people who occupied half the seats, according to health restrictions, paid tribute to the virologist at length. Sarah Gilbert, one of the leaders in AstraZeneca vaccine research in partnership with the University of Oxford And when the head of the ceremonies announced Sarah’s attendance, noting that the invitation was in honor of the citizens who lost their lives due to Covid-19, the audience rose. Sarah, who already bears the title of “Lady” given by Queen Elizabeth, was seated in one of the lofty chests in the area, next to the Duke of Kent and other representatives of the blue bloods. She was dressed in red, shyly huddled in her corner, looking as if she wanted to disappear from the scene, shy, as if she was out of the view corner of the picture. She was quiet, waiting for the applause to stop for a minute. It is a common attitude of scientists, heroes of our time, in the face of the new coronavirus: they do their work without fanfare, rooted in knowledge, on the other side of denial. In the UK, half of the population has already received two doses of some vaccine. Wimbledon’s honor extends to all of the dedicated research labs.

Published in VEJA July 7, 2021, Issue No. 2745