The critical care nurse in Queens, who was the first in the US to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, is now also the first in the country to be fully vaccinated against the bug.
Sandra Lindsay, who works at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, erupted in applause after completing her vaccination against the virus exactly three weeks since she made international headlines with her first admission of Pfizer’s vaccine.
“My message is still that of hope,” Linsday, 52, told reporters just after receiving the second shot in her left arm. ‘I feel like I’m done some kind of marathon, and I closed the loop. I know we are not out of the woods yet, we do not have the herd immunity yet, but the burden certainly feels much lighter today. ”
The record-breaking front-line worker again fired the shot in front of cameras at a time when the country was struggling with the slower-than-expected vaccination.
‘My message is going to be; just look at me as an example that the vaccine is safe. I had no side effects, “she said.
Asked if the second shot felt different, the nurse replied, ‘No, it did not feel any different’ before she cracked, ‘In fact, maybe Dr. [Michelle] Chester’s hand became slightly softer. ‘
Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling said Lindsay is now the first in the country to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I want to first thank Sandra for everything she has done to promote the idea of vaccination,” he said Monday.
Lindsay called the vaccine a “savior” during the global health crisis.
“I just want to tell people that you should be informed if you are uninformed,” she said. ‘Do not listen to hearsay. Let us all do our part. It is our civic responsibility in a crisis to just work together and get through this. ”
“COVID-19 has deprived us of our lives and livelihoods – and 2021 is our opportunity to reclaim them,” she added.
Other hospitals in the region are also administering the second doses of the vaccine to workers on Monday.
According to Saturday, 4.2 million people received their first blow – although more than 13 million doses were distributed, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. That’s just 32 percent.
New York, which was once the center of the pandemic in the spring, followed other states with the administration of the vaccine – with only 236,941 first doses given out of 774,075 received.