It is a historic moment.
On Monday, a New York nurse became the first American to be vaccinated against Covid-19, as the country begins a vaccination campaign symbol of hope for the country most bereaved in the world by the pandemic.
This intensive care nurse, Sandra Lindsay, was vaccinated in front of the cameras at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, a large hospital in the district of Queens.
“First vaccine administered.
Congratulations to the United States, congratulations to the WORLD!
President Donald Trump tweeted within minutes of the injection.
First Vaccine Administered.
Congratulations USA!
WORLD Congratulations!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020
It comes six days after the first vaccinations in the United Kingdom, the first country to have authorized the remedy from Pfizer / BioNTech laboratories.
"I hope this will give you and the caregivers who work on this every day a sense of security and enhanced competence," said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
HISTORY.
The first New Yorker, frontline nurse Sandra Lindsay, has been vaccinated.
Healing is coming.
Thank you, Sandra.
- Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) December 14, 2020
The nurse, smiling, said after the injection "to feel very good" and to have "felt no difference with the other vaccines".
Start of the American vaccination campaign
The American vaccination campaign, which should target as a priority the caregivers most exposed to the virus and retirement homes, begins as the pandemic sets the United States ablaze: the threshold of 300,000 deaths is about to be reached, with more than 16 million cases including 1.1 million in the last five days.
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Nearly three million doses must be distributed by Wednesday, with the goal of vaccinating some 20 million Americans by the end of December and 100 million by the end of March.
"It's light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is long," warned the governor of New York, recalling that it would take "months" before a critical mass of the population could be vaccinated.
“My main concern is about the level of reluctance” to the vaccine, senior federal immunization official Moncef Slaoui told CBS.
A vast communication campaign was launched to convince Americans to be vaccinated.