The symbolism at the kick-off event at Long Island Jewish hospital wasn’t subtle: Nurse Sandra Lindsay, the first New Yorker to be vaccinated, is an African-American woman, and so was the doctor administering the shot. The message: people of color will have access to this vaccine, and people of color need not fear it. Lindsay addressed the doubters and skeptics directly:  

"Use me as an example," she said. "I would not steer my community or the public wrong." 

Lindsay said people should trust the scientists and trust her, because she had seen the pandemic at its worst, and the “alternative” to the vaccine would be widespread and unnecessary death. Currently, though, only healthcare workers are being vaccinated.

The real test will come far from the Lindsay’s suburban hospital, in far more vulnerable communities, in the months ahead.