Materials used to give Northwell Health”™s employee Sandra Lindsay the first injection in the U.S. of the approved Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Dec. 14 have been donated to the Smithsonian Institution. She received the injection at Northwell”™s Long Island Jewish Medical Center where she is director of nursing for critical care.
The empty vial that contained the vaccine, her original vaccination record card, her employee identification card and other artifacts are now part of the medicine and science collections at the Smithsonian”™s National Museum of American History. Northwell also is donating other materials related to Covid-19 vaccinations it conducted using both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
“It was our first real sign of hope after so many dark months in the fight against the global pandemic,” Northwell”™s president and CEO Michael Dowling said. “Northwell was prepared to put shots in arms as soon as the vaccine arrived, not to make history but to protect our frontline workers battling Covid-19 as quickly as possible. When Sandra Lindsay rolled up her sleeve, we weren”™t just showing our team members the safety and efficacy of this groundbreaking vaccine ”“ we were telling the world that our country was beginning a new fight back to normalcy. It was an extraordinary moment, and I thank the Smithsonian for preserving this important milestone.”
Lindsay said, “I hope that when people visit the museum and see all these items that they stop to honor the lives of people who did not make it and remember the loved ones they left behind. I hope it will inspire some discussion and education for future generations.”
Anthea M. Hartig of the Smithsonian said, “The urgent need for effective vaccines in the U.S. was met with unprecedented speed and emergency review and approval. These now historic artifacts document not only this remarkable scientific progress but represent the hope offered to millions living through the cascading crises brought forth by Covid-19.”
The items from Northwell join rare objects in the Smithsonian”™s collections such as a penicillin mold from Alexander Fleming”™s experiments, Jonas Salk”™s original polio vaccine, vaccination tools used in the 1800s and early genetically-engineered drugs.
The National Museum of American History plans to have a 3,500-square-foot exhibition space “In Sickness and in Health,” that will explore efforts to contain, control and cure illnesses over the centuries, thereby shaping the nation”™s history. It will include the story of the Covid-19 pandemic.
All Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., are temporarily closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.
