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Houston Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher nominated two local scientists for their efforts to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic because of their "greatest benefit to humankind," she said in a news release.
Fletcher announced earlier this week that she'd send a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee nominating the two Houston-area scientists for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. The scientists are Dr. Peter Hotez and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, deans of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and co-directors of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital.
Fletcher nominated the two "for their work to develop and distribute a low-cost COVID-19 vaccine to people of the world without patent limitation," the Tuesday, Feb. 1 news release said.
"As people around the world confront the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the effort to develop and distribute a low-cost vaccine to all people in all nations without patent limitation represents the work for fraternity between nations and people that the Nobel Peace Prize embodies and celebrates," Fletcher said in her news release.
Fletcher referred to Hotez and Bottazzi's effort to develop CORBEVAX, a protein sub-unit COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use in India late last year, as "is truly one of international cooperation and partnership to bring health, security and peace around the world by creating a COVID-19 vaccine and making it available and accessible to all."
"It is a contribution that is of the greatest benefit to humankind,” Fletcher continued.
As a legislator, Fletcher is among a select group qualified to nominate to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Fletcher, a Democrat, has represented Texas' Seventh Congressional District, a seat once held by late President George H.W. Bush, since shortly after her election in 2018. She is seeking a third term in this year's General Election.
Hotez was featured in the Houston Daily late last summer after he received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation David E. Rogers Award for his significant contributions to public health.
CORBEVAX development is not the first time Hotez and Bottazzi have worked together. The two also have been noted for their work in tropical diseases, including Ebola.
In Fletcher's news release, Hotez said he was honored by her nomination of himself and Bottazzi.
"Dr. Bottazzi and I have worked together for years, and our purpose has never changed – to bring attention to the neglected diseases of poverty and build a new generation of vaccine in the pursuit of global vaccine diplomacy," he said. "With our COVID vaccine, which is inexpensive and easy to produce, our intent was to make it available to millions of people in the world who would otherwise not have access to COVID vaccines."
In the same news release, Bottazzi expressed gratitude for Fletcher's nomination of herself and Hotez.
"We have a team of scientists that have worked diligently for years to bring appropriate and affordable health technologies to those who have been overlooked around the world," she said. "When the COVID pandemic hit, we wanted to make a difference and had great confidence our coronavirus vaccine technology, previously developed, could lead to a global solution. Hopefully, it will be game changing for many countries."