British Covid vaccine creator Sarah Gilbert honoured with Barbie doll

British Covid vaccine creator Sarah Gilbert said it is a very strange concept having a Barbie doll created in her likeness.

British Covid-19 vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert has a model of the iconic Barbie doll in her likeness, which Toy giant Mattel hopes will "inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back". The Barbie modelled after the 59-year-old professor at Oxford University and co-developer of the Oxford and AstraZeneca Covid-10 vaccine has her long auburn hair and oversized black glasses. She also wears a navy blue pantsuit and a white blouse.

The Barbie modelled after the 59-year-old professor at Oxford University has her long auburn hair and oversized black glasses. (AFP Photo)

"It's a very strange concept having a Barbie doll created in my likeness. I hope it will be part of making it more normal for girls to think about careers in science," Gilbert said in an interview for Mattel.

Along with Gilbert, five other women also have new Barbies modelled after them. US healthcare worker Amy O'Sullivan, who treated the first Covid-19 patient at a Brooklyn hospital, and Audrey Cruz, a frontline doctor who fought discrimination were among the honourees, according to Mattel. So were Chika Stacy Oriuwa, the Canadian campaigner against systemic racism in healthcare, Brazilian biomedical researcher Jaqueline Goes de Jesus and Australian doctor Kirby White.

"Barbie recognises that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened," Lisa McKnight, senior vice president of Barbie and dolls at Mattel, said.

"To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie's platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back. Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes," McKnight said.