The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was administered in New York State in December 2020. (Credit: Scott Heins/Office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo)
Hope for a healthier, safer future arrived in a single box aboard a UPS truck that backed up to the loading ramp at Peconic Bay Medical Center about 9:40 Tuesday morning.
Inside that box were thumb-sized vials of the COVID-19 vaccine. They were rushed inside, refrigerated and, shortly after 1 p.m., one vial was brought into a first-floor room where PBMC hospital staffs were poised to witness a historic moment.
And everyone knew it. They broke out in applause. It was applause from a group of medical professionals who, since last March, have been dealing with the ravages of the coronavirus.
RN Kristen Hansen gives Peconic Bay Medical Center’s first dose of the COVId-19 vaccine to Dr. Nicholas Palamidessi last month. (Credit: Steve Wick)
On Tuesday morning, just 24 hours after the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered in New York State, a UPS truck arrived at Peconic Bay Medical Center to deliver a single box of the first doses to the North Fork.
Nine months and a week after the coronavirus arrived, forcing local residents to battle for their lives and livelihoods, the weapon to win the war, as the vaccine has been described, is here.
“This is an amazing, historic day,” said PBMC president and CEO Andy Mitchell. “It’s a great tribute to science that this was accomplished so quickly.