Sandra Leisa Lindsay

Sandra Leisa Lindsay was born in Jamaica and raised by her parents and grandparents. At age 18 she immigrated with her siblings to New York City, where she worked as a babysitter and a supermarket cashier while training for a career in nursing. After earning an associate’s degree from the Borough of Manhattan Community College, where she was valedictorian of her program, Lindsay became an oncology nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital. She went on to earn a BSN from St. Joseph’s University, an MSN from Lehman College, an MBA from Hofstra University, and a DHSc from A.T. Still University.

On December 14, 2020, Lindsay, then director of critical care nursing at Northwell’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center, became the first person in the United States to receive the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine. Thrust into the national spotlight, she became an advocate, encouraging vaccination and counteracting doubt and hesitancy, especially among people of color.

In 2021 she was recognized as an Outstanding American by Choice by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the following year she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest honor given to a U.S. citizen. She wrote the book First in Line about her life in nursing, explaining how her “passions and priorities changed after [she] became the first person in North America to take the COVID-19 vaccine,” and the “health disparities and healthcare problems faced by disadvantaged communities.” Now vice president of public health advocacy for Northwell Health, Lindsay cohosts Northwell Health’s 20-Minute Health Talk podcast.