Covid-19 vaccination drive begins in the US

The first Covid-19 vaccination in the United States has taken place, as the country gears up for its largest ever immunisation campaign.US President Donald Trump announced the administration of the first Covid-19 vaccine on Twitter. Sandra Lindsay, an intensive care nurse in New York is the first in US to get COVID-19 vaccine after Food and Drug Administration authorization.“Relieved,” proclaimed critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay after becoming one of the first to be inoculated at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. “I feel like healing is coming.”

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine received emergency-use authorisation from the FDA on Friday. Shipments of frozen vials of vaccine made by Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech began arriving at hospitals around the country. Several other countries also have given their nod of acceptance for the vaccine, including the UK, which started vaccinating last week.The US vaccination programme aims to reach 100 million people by April next year. Covid-19 fatalities are nearing 3 lakh in the US, which has by far the world's highest death toll.

Some 145 sites around the country, from Rhode Island to Alaska, received shipments, with more deliveries set for the coming days. High-risk health care workers were first in line.“This is 20,000 doses of hope,” John Couris, president and chief executive of Tampa General Hospital said of the first delivery.