Jamaican-American nurse Sandra Lindsay, who created history by being the first person in the United States to receive a COVID-19 vaccine yesterday, has urged the world to trust the science behind vaccination, to put an end to the ravages of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The critical care nurse received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot, which was administered live by Dr Michelle Chester, corporate director of employee health services at Northwell Health, one of New York’s largest health systems.

Moments after receiving the vaccine, the Long Island Jewish Medical Center nurse said she wanted to instil public confidence in the safety of the antidote.

“We all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to wear our mask, to social distance. I believe in science as a nurse, and so I trust science. What I don’t trust is that if I contract COVID I don’t know how it’s going to impact me or those who I come in contact with, so I encourage everyone to take the vaccine,” she said.

Tens of thousands of doses of the vaccine have now been deployed across the COVID-ravaged state.

“She has seen a lot,” head of Northwell Health, Michael Dowlng, said of Lindsay’s work as a front line medical worker.

“This is a special moment, this is what everybody has been waiting for and hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the COVID issue,” he said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said 3,500 New Yorkers could die and 11,000 hospitalised in a month if the virus isn’t brought under control.

Observing Lindsay’s vaccination yesterday, Cuomo described the pandemic as a “modern-day battlefield”, stressing the importance of the work of front line workers such as the ICU nurse. “You put your fear aside and you stepped up everyday to serve others,” he said.

The governor said he believed this was the weapon that would end the war against the pandemic in the US. “The vaccine doesn’t work if it’s in the vial… we want to get it deployed quickly,” he said.

The 52-year-old nurse said her experience was no different from taking any other vaccine, while commending her colleagues for their work in the fight against COVID-19.

“I feel hopeful today. I’m relieved. I feel like healing is coming. I hope this marks the beginning to the very end of a painful time in our history,” she stated.

The anti-vaccination lobby and suspicion have intensified in recent months with news that vaccines were on the verge of being ready.

The vaccine signals hope for Jamaicans in the diaspora and Jamaicans with interests in the US, in light of wave after wave of record COVID-19 infections and deaths at staggering levels in the US.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 16,113,148 cases of COVID-19 in the US, and 298,266 deaths as at December 14.

The World Health Organization has said following this first phase, the focus of the next phase of vaccination should be on vulnerable groups, including the elderly and those with conditions which put them at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19.

For this region, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has indicated that a vaccine could be ready by the first quarter of 2021. PAHO has assured that under the COVID-19 Global Access (COVAX), facility countries like Jamaica will have fair access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Last Tuesday, Jamaica’s Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton announced that health officials will be among the 16 per cent of Jamaicans to first receive the vaccine.

Head of the Nurses Association of Jamaica Patsy Edwards-Henry said the majority of nurses are not opposed to immunisation against the novel coronavirus, but wants parliamentarians to commit to taking the vaccine first.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency has already made a downpayment through the COVAX facility for equitable access to a safe and effective vaccine for the Caribbean.

Yesterday, the health and wellness ministry’s website gave the number of COVID-19 cases in Jamaica since March as 11,790 with 8,096 recoveries and 273 deaths.