'No! It's Not Biden and Harris': Four Other People Should Have Been The 2020 Celebrities

As soon as the Time weekly magazine announced its pick for the 2020 persons of the year, social media erupted in criticism over the magazine's choice by people who argued that many other figures have made a more major impact during the full-of-action year.

In their December issue, the US-based Time magazine celebrated the newly-elected US president Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris as 2020's most influential leaders, as they succeeded in taking over the White House from the outgoing President Donald Trump, who was hoping for a second term.

However, many voices were unsatisfied with the Time's choice, saying a number of other figures from all over the world have had a more significant role throughout the year that has been quite different in every aspect.

Alternatively, many online people took the chance to highlight names of other individuals whose roles have had a deeper impact on peoples' daily lives during 2020, especially since the year kicked off with terrifying news of a deadly virus that soon became a dangerous pandemic before it killed more than 1.6 million people and paralyzed lives of billions worldwide.

Amongst the names selected, a number of notable doctors, health workers, and scientists were highlighted, pointing at how deeply most people still feel about the threat of COVID19.

1. Dr. Li Wenliang

The 35-year-old Chinese doctor who lost his life in early February due to his infection of COVID19 was the very first whistleblower of "a SARS-like" deadly virus, warning of its danger well before the world felt the urgent need to combat the virus which later killed over 1.6 million people across the globe.

The doctor's claim of the new virus that generated during the late months of 2019 in the city of Wuhan was met by denial on part of Chinse authorities, who accused him of "spreading false news across social media". The doctor was accordingly summoned to the Public Security Bureau.

Several weeks later, the Chinese government had to admit that the virus was actually similar to the formerly known SARS one.

2. Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci

Still affected by the coronavirus outbreak, many social media commentators nominated the two Turkish-German scientists whose team was able to reach the first successful vaccine for COVID19, the one that is being produced by BioNTech and Pfizer and distributed currently in several countries, including the UK and the US.

3. Anothony Fauci

Having had dedicated most of his time throughout the year to tell Americans all of the available updates on the pandemic that has been wreaking havoc across the world, the American immunologist was remembered by some social media who thought he deserved to be the Time's person of the year.

Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

4. George Floyd

While the pandemic continues to be 2020's most memorable event, Americans, in particular, seem to be quite affected by the Black Lives Matter protests that swept through the country in late May and continued for the remaining months of the summer, following the death of African American citizen George Floyd after a white officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis, Minnesota, costing him his life, and causing a wave of protests against police violations against black Americans.

Many online people suggested that George Floyd could have been the Time's person of the year, as his death has alerted millions of Americans to police violence against people of color.