Zhong Nanshan was given the Medal of the Republic (共和国勋章). He has been leading the Chinese government's efforts in the fight against COVID-19. The old expert got a result that COVID-19 could be spread between humans.

"The People's Hero" was given to three others. They are Zhang Boli, Zhang Dingyu and Chen Wei.

Zhang Boli is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)expert. He has been in charge of the research of COVID-19 treatments connecting TCM with Western medicine.

Zhang Dingyu was the head of Wuhan's Jinyintan Hospital in 2020. He got an illness in 2018. However, he chose to stay with his partners in Wuhan to save lives.

Chen Wei is a professor. She has made great achievements in the research on COVID-19. She is also one of the key leaders in China's Ebola vaccine (埃博拉疫苗) research.