ATLANTA — Six Barbie dolls modeled after real-life medical workers have been released, in a nod to the heroes of the COVID pandemic.
Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls, made the announcement this week that it would donate $5 for each of the dolls sold at Target to the First Responders Children's Foundation.
Two of the dolls recognize American frontline workers - one modeled for emergency room nurse Amy O'Sullivan and another modeled for Dr. Audrey Sue Cruz.
According to Mattel, O'Sullivan "treated the first COVID-19 patient in Brooklyn at the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, became ill and was intubated, then a few weeks later returned to work to continue taking care of others."
Dr. Cruz, of Las Vegas, "joined forces with other Asian-American physicians to fight racial bias and discrimination."
The other women recognized with Barbies include Canadian Dr. Stacy Oriuwa, an advocate against systemic racism in healthcare; British professor vaccinology Sarah Gilbert, who led the development of the University of Oxford vaccine in the U.K.; Brazilian Dr. Jaqueline Goes de Jesus, who is credited with leading the genome sequencing of a COVID variant first found in Brazil; and Australian Dr. Kirby White, who helped develop a PPE gown that cold be washed and reused, greatly aiding the COVID response effort in that country.
"To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie’s platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back," Mattel's senior vice president and global head of the Barbie brand, Lisa McKnight, said in a statement. "Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes.”