Maria Elena Bottazzi

It’s not enough to produce vaccines mainly for people in high-income countries, according to Bottazzi. Along with scientist Peter Hotez, she pioneered the development of Covid-19 vaccines that are inexpensive, patent- and license-free, transportable, and relatively simple to make. As of early this year, more than 100 million doses of their vaccine, Corbevax, had been administered, and the vaccine has been approved for use in India and Botswana. A halal version has also been certified in Indonesia, with more than 100 million doses expected to be delivered there by 2024. For their work, the duo were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Bottazzi, who grew up mostly in Honduras, also leads events to discuss Covid-19 vaccines in Latino communities — and was named by Forbes Latin America as one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America in 2020, 2021, and 2022.