Queens Nurse Becomes First New Yorker To Get COVID-19 Vaccine

GLEN OAKS, QUEENS — A nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens made history Monday as she became the first in New York State to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

Sandra Lindsay, who has been working on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic as a critical-care nurse at Long Island Jewish, received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine just after 9 a.m. Monday during a livestreamed news conference.

Lindsay said she hoped to instill confidence in the vaccine by letting the public watch her get the shot — the first of two doses administered 21 days apart.

"I feel like healing is coming," Lindsay said. "I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined remotely to thank Lindsay and the doctor who administered the vaccine, Dr. Michelle Chester, Northwell Health's director of employee health services.

"I believe this is the weapon that will end the war," Cuomo said. "It's the beginning of the last chapter of the book."

Roughly 72,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine are expected to arrive in New York City for its first allocation. Health care workers and nursing home residents will be the first to get vaccinated in New York.

That the first vaccination in New York happened in Queens was symbolic: Queens was the borough hit hardest by the virus in March and April.

Long Island Jewish Medical Center, part of the Northwell Health hospital system, saw as many as 61 deaths in a week at the pandemic's springtime peak, Patch previously reported.

Lindsay saw that devastation firsthand, she said after receiving her first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine Monday.

"Working on the frontlines alongside my team I saw a lot of pain, hurt, suffering, death, and so I felt a huge sense of relief after I got the vaccine," Lindsay told reporters Monday. "I trust the science, so I had no hesitation when I was asked if I would take the vaccine. I've been waiting for this day for forever."

Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling said the hospital system had 3,500 coronavirus patients at one point in April. It has seen well over 100,000 patients since the pandemic struck.

Officials emphasized that the public must continue wearing masks and adhering to social-distancing rules even as vaccinations begin.

Patch editor Matt Troutman contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on the Bayside-Douglaston Patch