Growing up in Jamaica, before she immigrated to the United States 30 years ago, Ms. Sandra Lindsay helped take care of her grandmother, her primary caregiver, who had hypertension and diabetes. She was often asked by teachers what she wanted to be when she grew up. The answer was always: a nurse.
When officials at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center asked for staff volunteers; to be among the first to take the coronavirus vaccine, Sandra Lindsay raised her hand.
Because of lingering skepticism about the vaccine, even among some on her own staff, Ms. Lindsay, the director of critical care nursing, said she wanted to lead by example; particularly as a Black woman who understands the legacy of unequal and racist medical treatment and experimentation on people of color.
“That was the goal today,” she said in a phone interview… “Not to be the first one to take the vaccine, but to inspire people who look like me, who are skeptical in general about taking vaccines.”
Shortly the 52 year old Nurse, became one of the most famous nurses in the United States when state officials said she was the first person in the country vaccinated for the coronavirus.
Her vaccination at the medical center on the Queens-Long Island border was streamed into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s news conference and televised live on CNN, on the first day of distribution across the country.
“This is a historic moment, potentially the beginning of the end,” Michael Dowling, president and chief executive of Northwell Health; said of the vaccination that could begin to bring under control a pandemic that has killed more than 35,000 New Yorkers in the state. Nytimes reports.