New York nurse receives first Covid vaccine in US

A nurse in New York became the first person in the United States to receive the coronavirus vaccine Monday.

Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, received the Pfizer-BioNTech shot live on television shortly before 9:30 am (1430 GMT).

“First Vaccine Administered. Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!” President Donald Trump tweeted.

Lindsay said the jab “didn’t feel any different from taking any other vaccine.”

“I feel great. I feel relieved,” she said.

“I hope this marks the beginning of the end of the very painful time in our history. I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe.

“We’re in a pandemic so we all need to do our part,” Lindsay added.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, watching the landmark moment via video-link, told Lindsay he hoped the vaccine would give her and other frontline health care workers “a sense of security and safety.”

“It’s going to take months before the vaccine hits critical mass. So, this is the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a long tunnel,” he said, reminding people to keep following social distancing guidelines.

COVID-19 has ravaged the United States.

More than 299,000 US residents have been killed by the virus, including over 35,000 residents of New York state.

Canada begins vaccine rollout

Canada will also begin a roll-out of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Monday, just days after becoming one of the first countries to approve the treatment.

The first shipment of the vaccine arrived in the country on Sunday night, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailing the “good news.”

“But our fight against COVID-19 is not over. Now more than ever, let’s keep up our vigilance,” he said in a tweet.

Trudeau has previously said the country will receive 249,000 initial doses of the vaccine this month, the first 30,000 doses of which are expected to have arrived by Monday.

Costa Rica to vaccinate in 2021

Costa Rica expects to vaccinate 3 million citizens in 2021, representing about 60% of its population.

We are close to starting the vaccination process against COVID-19,” President Alvarado said.

“Due to global production limitations, vaccines will not arrive all at once, but throughout the year 2021. Science and the criteria of our health professionals have guided us and will guide the criteria for selecting populations for the process vaccination. For now, we must not lower our guard. Let’s take care of ourselves and our loved ones this Christmas.”

Costa Rican authorities last week said the country would approve vaccines that had been accepted by the U.S. FDA.

The Central American nation will receive 3 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine (enough for 1.5 million people). It also has an agreement with AstraZeneca and is part of the COVAX Facility, an effort supported by the World Health Organization to distribute vaccines worldwide.