Vaccinations kick off in US as virus toll nears 3,00,000

Vaccinations kick off in US as virus toll nears 3,00,000

‘I Feel Like Healing Is Coming’: New York Nurse Receives First Shot

15.12.2020

The first shot was given in the American mass vaccination campaign on Monday morning, opening a new chapter in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in the US than in any other country. Shortly after 9am (local time) on Monday, the first vaccination took place in Long Island Jewish Medical Centre in Queens. The pandemic has scarred New York state profoundly, leaving more than 35,000 people dead and severely weakening the economy.

“I believe this is the weapon that will end the war,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference Monday morning, shortly before the shot was given to Sandra Lindsay, an intensive-care nurse. State officials said the shot was the first to be given outside of a vaccine trial in the US. Lindsay, who has treated patients throughout the pandemic, said that she hoped her public vaccination would instill confidence in New Yorkers that the shots were safe. “I feel like healing is coming,” she said. “I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our history.”

President Trump posted on Twitter: “First Vaccine Administered. Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!” The vaccinations started after the FDA’s emergency authorisation of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Friday night, and as the US virus death toll approaches 300,000. In Iowa City, Iowa, David Conway, a 39-year-old emergency room nurse, received the vaccine, and in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Mark Conroy, 41, an emergency medicine physician, did, too.

A majority of the first injections are expected to be given on Monday to high-risk health workers. A wary public will be watching closely to see whether health workers embrace vaccination. Just half of Americans say they want to get vaccinated, while about a quarter don’t and the rest are unsure, according to a recent poll by Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Health Research.

Meanwhile, Trump said on Sunday night that he would delay a plan for senior White House staff members to receive the vaccine in the coming days. The shift came just hours after NYT reported that the administration was rapidly planning to distribute the vaccine to its staff at a time when the first doses are generally being reserved for high-risk health workers. Trump also implied that he would get the vaccine himself at some point, but said he had no immediate plans to do so. It was not clear why he decided to change the policy. NYT & AGENCIES

Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse, received the Pfizer-BioNTech shot live on TV shortly before 9.30 am EST (8pm IST). ‘I feel relieved,’ she said

Canada joins US, UK in vaccinations

Canada kicked off its inoculation campaign against Covid-19 on Monday by injecting health workers, becoming just the third nation in the world to administer the Pfizer vaccine after the US and the UK. The first dose went to Anita Quidangen, a personal support worker at t a non-profit nursing home for the elderly in Toronto. PM Trudeau said the first recipients will be workers in hospitals and nursing homes, the most vulnerable segment of the elderly, as well as those living on remote aboriginal reserves. REUTERS