The first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccination was Sandra Lindsay, a critical-care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center who spent the last 10 months working the front lines as the pandemic hit New York.
She received her shot during a press conference that Gov. Andrew Cuomo was having Monday.
When Cuomo asked her how she felt, she said it didn’t feel any different from any other vaccine she had received in her life. She said her desire to go first was to “instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe.”
Pfizer’s vaccine is administered in two doses, spaced three weeks apart, and medical experts have warned that there can be side effects associated with the vaccination.
While Cuomo had no problem leveraging the photo opp with Lindsay, he also said his state and the country as a whole have a long way to go. “So this is the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a long tunnel and we need people to continue to be doing the right thing. And the smart thing, all through the holiday season. And hopefully, when we get to about June, they estimate the vaccine can hit critical mass, but the health care workers will get it first because we know that you’re super stressed during this holiday season.”
On Sunday, workers at a Pfizer plant in Michigan started loading millions of doses onto trucks that will head out and be delivered throughout the country. UPS and FedEx will play a big role in getting the vaccine distributed.
On Monday, 145 shipments were expected to arrive across all 50 states. Health care workers will be prioritized to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
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