Sandra Lindsay (nurse)

Sandra Lindsay is the Director of Critical Care Nursing at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center and the first person in the United States to receive the federally-approved COVID-19 vaccine on December 14, 2020.
Early Life & Education
Lindsay was born and raised in Jamaica before immigrating to the United States. Growing up, she cared for her grandmother, who had hypertension and diabetes — an experience that led her to want to become a nurse. She then attended Lehman College in The Bronx, where she received her Master's degree in 2010.
Career
In April 2016, Lindsay became the Director of Critical Care Nursing at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Lindsay and her team treated patients with the disease. Between March and May, the hospital opened six new intensive care units, tripling their capacity to care for patients. At the height of the pandemic, she and her team were treating up to 150 patients with COVID-19 per day. In December 2020, Lindsay was given the opportunity to receive the federally-approved COVID-19 vaccine and became the first person in the United States to receive the vaccine. In interviews with the press, Lindsay notes that she made her decision hoping to alleviate vaccine hesitancy among African American communities, which have endured a legacy of racist medical practices.<ref name":1" /><ref name":2" />

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