It was a day America had been waiting for, a moment touted as the beginning of the end of a pandemic that has divided our politics, battered our economy, roused our culture wars and left us one of the most infected countries on the planet.
At Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, news cameras whirred as critical-care nurse Sandra Lindsay sat with her hands in her lap and received an injection in her left arm, the first known U.S. inoculation against COVID-19.
New York, N.Y. Nurse Sandra Lindsay, left, is inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine by Dr. Michelle Chester at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York.
(Mark Lennihan / Pool Photo )
Nurse Annabelle Jimenez, left, congratulates nurse Sandra Lindsay after she is inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine in New York. The rollout of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, the first to be authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, ushers in the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history.
(Mark Lennihan/Pool Photo )
Los Angeles California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, applauds as ICU nurse Helen Cordova receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.
(Jae C. Hong / Pool Photo)
Medical staff, from left, Helen Cordova, Kim Taylor, Brian Thompson, Raul Aguilar and Angela Balam pose for photos after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.
(Jae C. Hong / Pool Photo)
Oklahoma City Hannah White, left, a registered nurse and the first person in the state of Oklahoma to receive Pfizer’s vaccine, embraces acting Oklahoma State Commissioner of Health Dr. Lance Frye after receiving her injection at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
Louisville, Ky. Dr. Jason Smith displays his bandage after being administered a COVID-19 vaccination at University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville, Ky.
(Jon Cherry / Getty Images)
Boxes containing the first shipments of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are unloaded from air shipping containers and scanned at UPS Worldport in Louisville, Ky. Each box contains a GPS tracker and dry ice to keep the temperature at minus 70 Celsius.
(Michael Clevenger / Pool Photo)
Kalamazoo, Mich. Boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant in Portage, Mich.
(Morry Gash / Pool Photo )
Miramar, Fla. Registered nurse La Tanya Forbes, right, prepares to be inoculated by nurse Cheryl Birmingham at Memorial Healthcare System in Miramar, Fla.
(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)
Tampa, Fla. The COVID-19 vaccine arrives at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Fla.
(Chris O’Meara / Pool Photo)
Seattle Dr. Thuan Ong, center, reaches out to UW Medicine Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tim Dellit after Ong spoke with deep emotion about his patients before he received a COVID-19 vaccination at the hospital Dec. 15, 2020, in Seattle. Ong’s medical team was the first to treat coronavirus patients at long-term care facilities in the area.
(Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)
San Juan, Puerto Rico Nurse Melissa Valentin administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a health worker at Ashford Presbyterian Community Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dec. 15, 2020.
(Carlos Giusti / Associated Press)
Baton Rouge, La. Lt. Ollie Martin, with Ochsner Security, is inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine by nurse Meshoca Williams at Ochsner Hospital in Baton Rouge, La.
(Bill Feig / The Advocate)