Port Washington Nurse Gets Nation's First Coronavirus Vaccination

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — A Port Washington nurse who works at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens became the first American to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

The vaccine was delivered just after 9 a.m. Monday to a nurse identified as Sandra Lindsay. Online state records showed she is a registered nurse who lives in Port Washington. Lindsay is the director of patient care service at the hospital's critical care unit, according to her LinkedIn profile.

She said the shot for the Pfizer vaccine was like any other people take.

"It didn't feel any different from taking any other vaccine," Lindsay said.

Lindsay said she wanted the public to have confidence in taking the vaccine, which was produced by Pfizer-BioNTech. The pharmaceutical has said the shot is 95 percent effective.

"I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history," Lindsay said. "I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office livestreamed the first vaccination along with officials from Northwell Health, the state's largest hospital system. The hospital in eastern Queens has treated more than 100,000 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

"You stepped up every day to serve others and you did it magnificently well," Cuomo told Lindsay and her colleagues via a broadcasted teleconference call.

He added: "I know how horrific it was. It was a modern day battlefield."

Lindsay's historic vaccination even made it to the White House airwaves, with President Donald Trump extending his congratulations.

"First Vaccine Administered," Trump tweeted. "Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!

Watch LIVE as the first person in New York gets vaccinated: https://t.co/a3p8QOtK6w
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 14, 2020

First Vaccine Administered. Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020