December 15, 2020 6:13 AM
By Brandon Lee
The first coronavirus vaccines were administered by hospitals in the U.S. yesterday, the initial step in a historic drive to vaccinate millions of people this week.
In Queens, N.Y., critical-care nurse Sandra Lindsay received the first shot in the state at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. In Charlotte, N.C., that was Katie Passaretti, medical director of infection prevention at Atrium Health. And in Fargo, N.D., Melanie Allen, a clinical-care leader at Sanford Broadway Medical Center, got her shot.
âThis is just good old-fashioned science,â Allen said by telephone, about 30 minutes after she received the vaccine. She said she had butterflies beforehand, not from nerves but from sheer excitement. And when she got her shot, she says she didnât even feel the needle go in.