When the World Health Organization announced – incorrectly, as became apparent later – in March 2020 that the Covid-19 virus was not airborne, Prof Lidia Morawska knew she had to do something.

A renowned expert in air quality and health, Morawska, of the Queensland University of Technology, began contacting international colleagues. She eventually gathered 239 scientists globally to highlight the risk of airborne transmission of Sars-CoV-2.

The public pressure eventually prompted the WHO and other authorities to update their public health guidelines.

For her work during the pandemic, Morawska was named one of Time magazine’s most influential people in 2021. Air pollution: how bad is particulate matter for your health? Read more

On Monday evening, she also received the top gong

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