1st nurse, health care workers in US to get COVID vaccine, get booster at LIJ Medical Center
Coronavirus update for NYC
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The first three employees to have received the COVID vaccine in the U.S. have now received their booster shots.
Northwell Health made history on December 14, 2020, when Long Island Jewish Medical Center intensive care unit nurse, Sandra Lindsay, RN, became the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
On that same day, she was joined by Lenox Hill Hospital's Yves Duroseau, MD, the first physician in America to hold this distinction, as well as North Shore University Hospital intensive care unit nurse Elyse Isopo, NP.
Now that the CDC has authorized the distribution of Pfizer-BioNTech's booster shot to people ages 65 and up, along with people with pre-existing conditions and frontline workers, these employees wanted to get their third dose.
"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.
She said that she's happy that she can be a positive example to people and encourage others to get the vaccine while debunking misinformation.
Not all frontline workers are getting their vaccines. Northwell, the largest health care employer in the state, has fired 1,400 of its employees this week for not complying with the state mandate.
But at a facility that once found itself at the epicenter of the pandemic, hospital administrators say boosters are the next logical step.
"As we believe a fully vaccinated workforce and community is the way to get out of this pandemic," said Northwell Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Battinelli.
As for Lindsay, whose journey this past year took her from the Times Square ball drop, to a ticker tape parade, to the White House, her job - saving lives - and easing fear, one person at a time, remains her true passion.
"So if I can change one person's mind a day, that's good for me," she said.
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