80-year-old Prof. Dr. Huynh Thi Phuong Lien (left) is presented with the title of “Hero of Labour in the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) Period” by Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh on January 19. (Photo: VNA)

Lien is a senior specialist at the State-owned Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (Vabiotech) under the Ministry of Health, who had 53 years of experience in medicine.

The title was presented to the 80-year-old professor by Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, who is also the First Vice President of the Central Council for Emulation and Rewards, in a ceremony held at the Hanoi-based Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology on January 19.

Prof. Dr. Huynh Thi Phuong Lien delivers an acceptance speech during the ceremony. (Photo: VNA)

The Labour Hero title is to honour individuals with exceptional achievements in work and innovation, contributing to the building of socialism in Vietnam and safeguarding the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Long said the noble title is a recognition by the Party and State for the professor’s relentless work and daring and creative spirit in vaccine research and application, which is critical to the country’s efforts to combat communicable diseases and protect people’s well-being.

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh and Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long pay a visit to Vabiotech's vaccine lab. (Photo: VNA)

Despite many challenges, Lien and her co-workers at Vabiotech have successfully produced vaccines against cholera, typhoid fever, smallpox and Japanese encephalitis, and participated in twelve State-level scientific studies.

The first-generation vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, developed by her team at Vabiotech, has been used in the National Expanded Programme on Immunisation since 1997. It is also the first made-in-Vietnam vaccine exported overseas.

Vabiotech is among four vaccine manufacturers in Vietnam that have been developing vaccines against the COVID-19./. VNA

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