Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, has been freshly knighted by the Queen Elizabeth II of the UK for his contributions to the local fight against COVID-19.
Jonathan Van-Tam, an Englishman of Vietnamese origin, was one of those receiving a Knighthood in the New Year's Honours list, which also included England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam (1st from left) at the celebration of Viet Nam's 76th National Day organised by the Embassy of Vietnam in the UK on September 20, 2021. (Photo: VNA)

Van-Tam, an expert on influenza, has been Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England since 2017. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, he has become famous for his press conferences on the epidemic situation that attracted millions of viewers. The Sunday Times called him an “unexpected hero in the pandemic”.

At the Viet Nam National Day celebration in London in September last year, the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK honoured the professor for his provision of policy advice for Viet Nam’s COVID-19 prevention and control.

The New Year's Honours list acknowledged achievements and contributions of people around the UK across different fields, including politics, entertainment, and sport.

Source: VNA