First US COVID-19 vaccine vial headed to museum
When a New York nurse became the first American to receive a dose of an Fda-authorised COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020, it was a moment that would go down in history. Now that first vaccine vial is heading to a history museum to be displayed in an exhibit planned for next year.
On 10 March 2021, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History announced that it had acquired the now-empty vial of the Pfizer-biontech vaccine used for that historic shot, which was administered to intensive-care nurse Sandra Lindsay on 14 December 2020. Other materials, including Lindsay’s vaccination record card, scrubs and hospital identification badge, will also become part of the museum’s collection.
The materials were donated by Northwell Health, the New York healthcare provider where Lindsay works. Northwell Health also donated other materials connected to the first vaccine doses, including the special shipping materials that were needed to maintain the vaccines at ultra-cold temperatures. “These now-historic artefacts document not only this remarkable scientific progress, but represent the hope offered to millions living through the cascading crises brought on by COVID-19,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the museum’s director.
Since April 2020, the museum has been collecting artefacts to document the pandemic and its effects on society. Some of the artefacts volunteered to the museum include rubbish bags that healthcare workers wore when supplies of protective gear were low, and signs that people made to show support to their loved ones who were locked down in assisted
care facilities.