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Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 14 as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo watched on virtually.
“This was a modern-day battlefield, and that’s why the word 'heroes' is so appropriate for what you did,” Cuomo said to Lindsay. “You put your fear aside and stepped up every day and you did it very well.
“The vaccine is exciting. It’s the weapon to win the war,” he continued. “This is the beginning of the last chapter of the book, now we just have to get through it.”
Lindsay’s dose was the first of 170,000 allocations that were distributed across the state. In 21 days, she will receive a second dose to receive the full COVID-19 vaccination.
“The vaccine doesn’t work if it’s in a. vial, so New York State has been hard to deploy it,” Cuomo said. “We’ve been moving planes, trains, and automobiles to move it across the state. We want to get it deployed and get it deployed quickly.”
The majority of the first batch of vaccinations are earmarked for nursing home residents, employees, and high-risk frontline healthcare employees at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19.
Lindsay said that the shot “didn’t feel different from taking any other vaccine,” and that she wants to “instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe.”
“We’re still in a pandemic, but I feel hopeful … relieved,” she said. “I feel like healing is coming, and hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history.
“We all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic and not give up so soon,” Lindsay added. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to wear masks, social distance, and follow the science.”
Michael Dowling, the President and CEO of Northwell Health, the state’s largest hospital system, echoed Lindsay’s word in reminding the public that despite there being a vaccine available, New York is still in the midst of a pandemic.
“There’s no excuse for the public not to wear masks or social distance,” he said. “We still have to comply with safety standards even though the vaccine is being distributed over the next several months.”
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