Last December, Sandra Lindsay, a registered nurse from Port Washington, became the first person in the United States to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
On Wednesday, Oct. 6, she, along with two others, received her booster shot during a news conference. The shot is currently not available to the general public, but frontline workers, people ages 65 and up and people with pre-existing conditions are eligible to receive it.
According to ABC7, Lindsay said after receiving her booster, “So today signifies another chapter in the fight against this deadly virus, when I decided to take the vaccine in the first place I was committed to be a part of the solution and I’m still committed,” Lindsay said.
As of today, only Pfizer-BioNTech’s booster shot is the only one the CDC has authorized. Next week, the CDC will meet to discuss plans for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots.
Lindsay, who works in the intensive care unit at New Hyde Park’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center, spent part of the summer being commended for her historic effort in the COVID-19 pandemic.
This July, she served as the grand marshal for a ticker-tape parade in New York City honoring local healthcare workers and was awarded the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Outstanding Americans by Choice recognition by President Joe Biden at the White House.
Many artifacts from Lindsay’s first vaccination shot were sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History including her vaccination card, ID badge and hospital scrubs.
Earlier this month, Northwell, New York’s largest employer, fired 1,400 of its unvaccinated employees for not complying with the state’s mandate.
In a statement to Blank Slate Media, the health network said it regrets terminating employees under the circumstances but cited the importance of keeping its patients and staff members safe.
“Northwell regrets losing any employee under such circumstances, but as health care professionals and members of the largest health care provider in the state, we understand our unique responsibility to protect the health of our patients and each other,” the statement said. “We owe it to our staff, our patients and the communities we serve to be 100 percent vaccinated against COVID-19.”
