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Just after 9 a.m. Monday, Sandra Lindsay, an intensive care nurse in Queens, New York, was vaccinated against COVID-19. Lindsay was one of the first people in the United States to receive a dose of the newly licensed Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine and was the first to receive the vaccine in New York, one of the first epicenters of the pandemic.
“I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a painful time in our history,” he said.
Breaking down: An intensive care nurse in Queens, Sandra Lindsay, is the first New Yorker to be vaccinated without a test capacity after the first few doses from the Pfizer vial arrived at Northwell Health this morning. “It felt no different than taking any other vaccine,” Lindsay said. pic.twitter.com/KSaYEQUTHE
– Spectrum News NY1 (@ NY1) December 14, 2020
Lindsay was vaccinated just two days after the Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer and BioNTech product. The announcement marked the end of a record-breaking effort to develop a vaccine against the deadly disease and the beginning of an unprecedented campaign to vaccinate millions of people in the US.
As soon as the authorization was given, the Pfizer factory began preparing the doses for shipment. The trucks left the company’s Michigan facility Sunday and headed for the airport.
Breaking down: UPS and FedEx trucks carrying the first U.S. shipment of coronavirus vaccine left Pfizer’s facility near Kalamazoo, Michigan. pic.twitter.com/Cf32ki9gCF
– Pete Muntean (@petemuntean) December 13, 2020
The shipments landed across the country this morning and other healthcare workers joined Lindsay as the first batch of vaccine recipients. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center coordinated the first injections after a countdown of “three, two, one, vaccinate.” Hartford HealthCare staff in Connecticut received their first doses in an outdoor tent, surrounded by cameras and reporters.
And with that, the vaccination has begun.
Hartford HealthCare’s Dr. Ajay Kumar becomes the first person in Connecticut, and one of the first nationally, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine since authorization. pic.twitter.com/DesXwqWlBN
– Alex Putterman (@AlexPutterman) December 14, 2020
Other hospitals will take a few more days to start vaccinations. Boston Medical Center plans to start Tuesday or Wednesday, for example. Some doctors said on Twitter that they still I have not received information about when your shots will be scheduled.
The FDA is expected to clear the Modern COVID-19 vaccine later this week, and if it does, shipments of that product begin to be implemented throughout the country.
Operation Warp Speed, the federal association behind vaccine development, said 20 million people could be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year. Some hospitals say that seems unrealistic due to the logistical challenges of coordinating vaccines and changing expectations about the number of doses they will receive.
Despite all efforts to accelerate the distribution of the vaccine, COVID-19 cases continue to increase across the country. It will take a few months before the vaccine can slow the spread of death and disease. Still, the first few injections are a scientific triumph, and for many people in the US, they are a bright sign of hope at the end of a long, dark year.
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