Professor Chris Whitty is to receive a knighthood in the Queen’s new year honours list.
The chief medical officer for England will be recognised for the extraordinary role he has played at the forefront of tackling the pandemic.
Whitty, 55, already holds a lesser honour — Companion of the Order of the Bath — for his services to tropical medicine in the UK and Africa during the ebola crisis.
His deputy, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, 57, known for his no-nonsense advice at TV press conferences, and other public servants who have been on the front line of fighting Covid for almost two years are also tipped for honours. The chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, already has a knighthood.
The honours list is also expected
