Black ICU Nurse Among The First To Receive Coronavirus Vaccine in New York

The United States has officially begun to administer the coronavirus vaccine. A critical care nurse from New York was among the first people to get the shot authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration.

This morning, during a live video event, Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, was administered the vaccine. Dr. Michelle Chester, the corporate director of employee health services at Northwell Health, delivered the shot.

After the shot, Lindsay said, “she has a good touch, and it didn’t feel any different than taking any other vaccine.” She added, “I’m feeling well. I would like to thank all the frontline workers, all my colleagues who have been doing a yeoman’s job to fight this pandemic all over the world.” She said, “I feel hopeful today, relieved. I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history.”

Lindsay and Chester, both Black women, were supported on stage by Michael Dowling, the president and CEO of Northwell Health, who noted the regional hospital system has seen over 100,000 patients with Covid-19. Chester said the vaccine kit to administer the shot “worked perfectly.”

Although the shot lasted only seconds, the shot represents a crucial moment in history: a sign of scientific speed and rigor; of the crippling burden borne by health care workers; of the journey of New York from its dark days as the epicenter of the pandemic; and the renewed emphasis on race and gender problems, with two Black women at the front and middle.

The vaccine is more than mere symbolism, of course. Lindsay will be able to visit family, friends, colleagues, and patients more comfortably with the injection and with a second dose in 21 days.

Soon, millions of Americans will do so, too.

“This is a special moment, a special day,” Dowling said. “This is what everybody has been waiting for.”