Recently travelled to Kingston to be hands-on with surgeries

Jamaica-born registered nurse, Sandra Lindsay, who was the first person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States (US) three years ago during the pandemic, is giving back to her homeland.

The Long Island critical care nurse recently returned to Jamaica, giving support to previously postponed medical procedures in Kingston. She became a national name when she received the first official dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020, and is continuing her mission work.

Besides working at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Lindsay told NBC News that she even contributed to educational events and community screenings in rural surrounding areas.

Honoured to give back to Jamaica

Lindsay, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work serving on the front lines of the pandemic, also donated a vital piece of equipment courtesy of medical supply non-profit MedShare, Northwell to the Noel Holmes Hospital in the western part of the island.

Lindsay was honoured to give back to her native land and looks back fondly at her time there, especially with her grandmother who served as a big inspiration. Lindsay moved to New York in 1986 at the age of 18 with her mother and siblings, never losing sight of her dream of becoming a nurse.

Since the first jab, Lindsay has been engaged in her new leadership role as vice president of Public Health Advocacy at Northwell Health, monitoring the spread of the coronavirus and ensuring high-risk localities are getting the proper healthcare, including those abroad.

In partnership, Northwell, Lindsay donated more than US$800,000 worth of medical equipment to Jamaica in 2021, which she facilitated in the handover.

“Jamaica also reached out, needing help for a backlog of surgeries related to COVID. People couldn’t get their care and schedule surgeries because of the pandemic.”

Lindsay told NBC New York that she assisted on upwards of a dozen gynecologic cases postponed for two years.