When Sandra Lindsay showed up for work on December 14, 2020, she only thought she would be standing in a long queue of staff at Northwell Hospital in Queens who were to be vaccinated.
But when she entered the hall to get her first dose of Pfizer, and spotted all the TV cameras that were set up, she realized that she was about to be the first in the United States to be vaccinated against covid-19 .
– I am very honored to have a place in history, and to be able to share my experiences. Hopefully it can inspire others and help us return to normal, she says to TV 2.
– THE FIRST: Sandra Lindsay will be the first to receive coronary vaccine in the US on December 14, 2020. Photo: Mark Lennihan / AP / NTB
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After she received the vaccine, the entire world press wanted to talk to her. TV 2 meets her a year later just outside New York in the small town of Port Washington where she lives.
– I have received a lot of sympathy with real celebrities who can not even walk out the door without cameras present. Fortunately, that’s not the case with me. But I am recognized on the street, and there is only positive feedback, she says.
Visit to the White House
In July, Lindsay was invited to the White House by President Joe Biden, who praised her from the rostrum.
– When the pandemic was at its worst, Sandra gave everything she had to make sure that the patients and nurses were safe. When the time came, she became the first person outside the vaccine studies to be fully vaccinated. She can now hug her granddaughter, and she works to ensure that both patients and the local community are vaccinated, the president said.
– INVITED: After receiving the coronary vaccine, Sandra Lindsay was invited to the White House by US President Joe Biden Photo: Patrick Semansky
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Lindsay, who is originally from Jamaica and moved to New York as a student, was awarded an honorary title for immigrants called “Outstanding Americans by Choice”.
– It was surreal. I could not believe I was in the White House. I come from a small place in Jamaica, and now I was in the White House and was honored by the president, she says.
Convince vaccine skeptics
The United States has long been at the top of the world when it comes to vaccine doses. As early as April, Americans over the age of 18 were given access to both the Pfizer vaccine and Moderna’s vaccine. But during the summer and autumn, the United States was overtaken by Norway and other countries in Europe. Right now, 60 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated.
Lindsay spends much of her time trying to convince vaccine opponents to take a dose. She says it is important to understand why they do not want to be vaccinated.
– You need to know why. That’s the first thing I ask. “What do you know and what do you really mean?” People do not like to be asked why they do not want to be vaccinated. They feel reprimanded. «What drives your fear? Tell us more about why you are making this choice “, she says.
– CONVINCES PEOPLE: Sandra Lindsay uses her own experience to convince vaccine opponents to get vaccinated. She tells stories about what it is like to work in a hospital during the pandemic often makes an impression. Photo: Mathias Ask / TV 2
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She says her most effective argument is to tell about how hard the hospitals were hit when New York was the epicenter of the pandemic in March 2020. On the worst day, over 800 of the city’s residents died of covid.
– When people went outdoors, and especially during the shutdown, there were two realities. There was a silence and eerie atmosphere in the streets, but in the hospitals it was like hell, she says.
Omikron-variant
Lindsay is closely following the new omikron variant. In recent weeks, the infection has risen sharply in New York.
– I wait until we have the facts on the table before I start to panic. So far it seems that it is very contagious, but not as deadly as the delta variant. But I follow the numbers closely every day, she says.
All over the city there are long queues to test themselves. But Lindsay says there is currently not the same pressure on hospitals as there was when the pandemic first came to New York. She thanks the vaccines for that.
– I can not imagine what life would be like without the vaccines because among the patients who are vaccinated, the symptoms are very mild. And that’s what the vaccines are supposed to do, right? They prevent serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths, Lindsay says.
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