AN MBE has been awarded to a man originally from Darlington for his work in developing the AstraZeneca vaccine during the Covid pandemic.

Jonathan Elliott has come a long way since his days at Hummersknott Academy in Darlington and is now Director in Global Government Affairs and Policy Strategy for AstraZeneca.

Jonathan was awarded an MBE at Windsor Castle this week (March 16) after finding out he would receive the award last year.

Read more: The Darlington primary school teacher who keeps winning trophies with his beloved dog

Explaining his role in developing the AstraZeneca vaccine, Jonathan said: “I was responsible for the relationship between AZ and the UK Government so we produced a vaccine in partnership with the UK Government and oxford University, so I led all of our negotiations with the Government and making sure the vaccines got from the factories to the NHS and made sure that what we needed from the Government was communicated.

“I was hugely surprised when I found out, and very proud and incredibly happy. It’s not often people in the Government/corporate affairs space get recognised for something like this so it was quite a shock.

“My mum was very proud. I’m not surprised she contacted The Echo about it without letting me know!”

Jonathan now lives in Surrey but travelled back up north and told his grandparents while sitting outside in their garden.

“They were really happy, and actually got quite emotional about it. They were just over the moon.”

--

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054