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New York , the worst - hit state at the start of thepandemic , just became the first to administer a coronavirus vaccinum outdoors of clinical trials , kicking off a retentive , massive effort to vaccinate the American hoi polloi .
Around 9 a.m. E.T. on Monday ( Dec. 14 ) , the very first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech ’s coronavirus vaccine was given to Sandra Lindsay , an intensive tending nurse in Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens , New York , according to The New York Times . This comes as the U.S. continues to combat a monumental wafture of the computer virus that has more than 109,000 people currently hospitalize , harmonise to The COVID Tracking Project .
Since the start of the pandemic , New York has recorded more than 780,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 35,100 deaths , according to The Times . " This vaccinum is exciting because I consider this is the weapon that will end the war , " Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a live programme of the first inoculation . " It ’s the offset of the last chapter of the book , but now we just have to do it . "
Watch populate as the first someone in New York gets vaccinated : https://t.co/a3p8QOtK6wDecember 14 , 2020
On Friday ( Dec. 11 ) , the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) granted exigency habit sanction , or permission for the vaccinum to be distributed prior to full approval due to the pandemic emergency , to the Pfizer - BioNTech vaccine . The vaccine was shown to be 95 % effective in prevent COVID-19 in later - stage clinical trials .
On Sunday ( Dec. 13 ) , the first of 3 million initial doses of the vaccinum were shipped across the U.S. in truck and cargo planes , according to The Times . Some sites are set to get the cargo today , while others will welcome them on Tuesday ( Dec. 15 ) or Wednesday ( Dec.16 ) .
relate : Coronavirus live updates
New York nation official expect to be able to vaccinate 170,000 people ab initio . The very first doses given out on Monday in New York will mainly be to high - risk health care workers , according to The Times .
But that ’s only a small fraction of the 1.8 million people in New York , including nursing home residents and healthcare workers , who will be prioritize to pick up the vaccine in the first phase angle of the roll - out , which will in all likelihood end sometime in January , accord to the Times . The second form , which will include essential workers and high - risk individuals will come after that .
Other states across the U.S. are also beginning to vaccinate high antecedency someone on Monday .
Originally published on Live Science .
