First Americans Administered Pfizer’s Coronavirus Vaccine

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 The first vaccinations approved by the U.S. government to protect against the coronavirus were administered Monday morning, kicking off a massive campaign to control the outbreak that has claimed nearly 300,000 American lives.

Among the first to receive the Pfizer vaccine were health care workers in New York. A critical care nurse encouraged everyone to take the vaccine after receiving the shot herself.

"I feel hopeful today, relieved. I feel like healing is coming," the nurse said on a live stream provided by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "I hope this marks the beginning of the end of a very painful time in our country. I want to instill public confidence that the vaccine is safe. We're in a pandemic, and so we all need to do our part to put an end to the pandemic and to not give up so soon. There's light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to continue to wear our mask, to social distance."

Pfizer's vaccine gained its final required endorsement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the weekend, setting the stage for a historic effort to get Americans inoculated. A CDC advisory committee has recommended that health care workers and nursing home residents are the first to get the shots.

"First Vaccine Administered," President Donald Trump tweeted. "Congratulations USA! Congratulations WORLD!"

Trump on Sunday shut down the idea that top officials at the White House would be among the first to get the vaccine, saying they "should receive the vaccine somewhat later in the program, unless specifically necessary." He said he is not yet scheduled to take the shot.

Experts have warned that initial doses will be limited and that their effect on the pandemic won't be immediately seen. Federal officials have said they plan to inject 20 million people this month.

"Today is such a historic day, as we hopefully see the light at the end of the tunnel of this horrible pandemic," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Monday on NBC's "Today."

Health officials have reported over 16.2 million cases of the virus in the U.S. It's a far greater total than any other country in the world, with India behind it at 9.8 million infections.

Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, said over the weekend that 145 sites across the country would receive vaccine shipments on Monday. More than 400 sites will have the shipments on Tuesday, and the last 66 sites will get them on Wednesday. 

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