A Long Island nurse who was the first person in the United States to receive an approved Covid-19 vaccine was grand marshal of the Hometown Heroes parade honoring the pandemic’s essential workers in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Sandra Lindsay, of Port Washington, the director of patient care services for critical care at Northwell Health’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center, had previously been honored at a White House ceremony by President Joseph R. Biden with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Outstanding Americans by Choice.
“It is truly an honor and privilege to serve as the grand marshal in the Hometown Heroes ticker-tape parade and represent all health care and essential workers whose heroic efforts saved lives during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Lindsay said.
She became the first person in the United States to receive the Covid-19 vaccine on Dec. 14, 2020.
Several other Long Islanders participated, including three essential workers representing Mount Sinai South Nassau, a hospital in Oceanside that has treated more than 6,000 residents with Covid-19 since March 2020.
The parade, dubbed “Hometown Heroes,” was the largest ticker-tape parade to grace New York City in history and the first procession in almost two years. Kicking off at 11 a.m. in Battery Park, the event was helmed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane Irene McCray, and Lindsay.
“Let’s thank our health care heroes! You guys are amazing! Thank you to the nurses, thank you to the doctors, thank you to the technicians — everybody who made the hospitals work during the crisis, you are our heroes. Thank you,” de Blasio said as Mount Sinai and other hospital workers marched past a stage with a sign reading, “No stopping New York.”
The echoing sound of drums, bagpipes, horns, and musical performances by more than 10 bands resounded through the streets as essential workers marched through Broadway to the delight of thousands of spectators.
-With Dean Moses
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