The Covid-19 vaccine is here: first Americans receive their injections

 

The Covid-19 vaccine is here: first Americans receive their injections

 

What  seemed impossible months ago is now a reality: The first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine have been given to the American public, less than a year after the disease was first identified in the United States.   Among the first people in the United States to get a shot of the coronavirus vaccine authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration was a critical care nurse in New York City.   Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens, New York, was administered the vaccine during a live video event at about 9:20 a.m. ET on Monday. Dr. Michelle Chester, the corporate director of employee health services at Northwell Health, delivered the shot.   "She has a good touch, and it didn't feel any different than taking any other vaccine," Lindsay said immediately afterward.   The vaccine is, of course, more than just symbolic. With the shot, and a second dose in 21 days, Lindsay will be able to more safely visit family, friends, colleagues and patients.   But it will be several months before most Americans can get a Covid-19 vaccine.   In the meantime, thousands of Americans are dying from the virus every day. And the rates of new infections and deaths are accelerating at unprecedented rates, meaning Americans must hunker down this winter before rolling up their sleeves.