On December 14, millions watched videos of Sandra Lindsay, a New York frontline ICU nurse who lost an aunt and an uncle to Covid-19, as she became the first American healthcare provider to receive a shot after the FDA approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in the US. “It’s safe to take it,” Lindsay told the Washington Post,. “People have heard about the side effects — fever, arm pain — but I don’t suspect that it will be any different from the annual flu vaccine. Even if there is a little soreness, or a lot of soreness, it’s still better than the alternative.”
The few seconds it took for Dr. Michelle Chester to administer the shot marked a national milestone—a first step in the direction of herd immunity. The vaccination was also a personal milestone for the Jamaican-born Lindsay, 42, who has worked throughout the pandemic at Long Island Jewish Medical Center as an intensive care unit director in charge of five units of critical care nurses. Her brother, respiratory therapist Garfield Lindsay, said, “It’s not just managing other nurses and the stress. She has dealt with so many deaths. I reminded her how strong she is, how she prepared for this.”
After her live-streamed Covid vaccination, Lindsay became an instant social media star and was deluged with inquiries from journalists. Although the attention seemed to surprise her, she handled the questions deftly, and very much as one could expect from a long-time nurse. Was Lindsay concerned about the safety of the new vaccine? “I have no fear,” she told CNN. “I trust the science. My profession is deeply rooted in science. I trust science. What I don’t trust is getting Covid-19, because I don’t know how it will affect me and the people around me that I could potentially transfer the virus to.”
Lindsay also told CNN, “I want to be a part of the solution to put an end to this pandemic once and for all. I think also as a leader in the organization that I lead by example. I don’t ask people to do anything that I would not do myself.”
African American nurses are playing a historic role in their efforts to encourage Americans to roll up a sleeve to help end the pandemic. The example of ANA president Dr. Ernest Grant’s participation in the Pfizer-BioNTech trials depicted scientific testing in one of its most life-affirming aspects; now, Sandra Lindsay is an icon of hope in a nation longing to wake from its Covid nightmare.
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