Sandra Lindsay, the critical care director of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ) in Queens, received the all-important second dose from Pfizer to lock in immunity to the virus.
The second vaccination comes 21 days after her historic first injection. Lindsay received the first vaccine on December 14 in the presence of Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Officials say the Pfizer vaccine has been considered 95% effective after the second dose.
Lindsay received it at the hospital where she supervises all intensive care patients. The second dose of the vaccine was administered by Michelle Chester, DNP, Northwell Health’s director of health services for employees, the same doctor who gave the first shot seen around the world.
“I feel fine,” Lindsay said. “I don’t feel any different before I got it. I hope the vaccine is available to everyone as it was for me.”
Northwell has vaccinated more than 22,000 employees with both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines since mid-December.
The second rounds take place not only in New York City, but in the Tri-State area.
In an ambitious plan, Mayor Bill de Blasio hopes to vaccinate 1 million people by the end of the month, even though not all vaccination centers have been established and the city doesn’t even have a million doses of the vaccine – at least not yet.
The governor said his first priority is to vaccinate nursing homes. The FBI implemented that program, and less than half received their first does.
Now the state is jumping in to speed up the process and wants all nursing home residents and staff to receive the first doses.
Cuomo also said hospitals need to better manage the vaccine. Some fare better than others, with New York City Health and Hospitals near the bottom of the list in terms of the number of vaccines distributed.
In the future, hospitals could be fined up to $ 100,000 for failing to hand out on time.
“I need them to take personal responsibility for their hospitals,” said Cuomo. “This is a management issue for the hospitals. They need to move the vaccine and they need to move the vaccine faster.”
NewYork-Presbyterian dispensed the most doses in the state for its size, while NYC Health and Hospitals and Westchester Medical Center dispensed the least: 31 and 32%.
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