In an award that recognised all the “selfless workers and volunteers who stepped forward” during the first year of the pandemic, The Straits Times recognised Professor Ooi Eng Eong from Duke-NUS’ Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme, for his contribution to the development of vaccines.
Ooi was part of a group of five COVID-19 frontliners from the healthcare, research, security and public health sectors, who received the honour in the name of all who fought the SARS-CoV-2 virus on the frontlines.
Now in its sixth year, the Singaporean of the Year Award honours Singaporeans who have made a positive and sustainable impact on society, and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit.
In late 2020, Ooi was also among a group known as the virus busters who received The Straits Times’ Asians of the Year Award.