18 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 17, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
Believe in science; take the vaccine
Moments aft er becoming the fi rst New
Yorker to receive the FDA-approved
COVID-19 vaccine in front of a national
audience just before 9:30 a.m. Monday
morning, Queens health care worker
Sandra Lindsey said she felt good — and
hopeful for the future.
Th e vaccine, described by Governor
Andrew Cuomo as “the weapon that will
end the war” against COVID-19, is fi nally
making the rounds through the health
care and nursing home communities. Th e
rest of us should be able to get it in a few
months, and the end of this nightmare
pandemic will not be far behind.
But doubt over the vaccine, and the
science involved, remains among too
many Americans — and Lindsey used her
opportunity to speak to the city, state and
country to deliver a simple yet powerful
message in her post-vaccination remarks.
“I believe in science. As a nurse, my
practice is guided by science and so I trust
that,” Lindsey said. “What I don’t trust is
that, if I contract COVID, I don’t know
how it would impact me or those who
I come in contact with, so I encourage
everyone to take the vaccine.”
For months during this pandemic,
Lindsey — as an intensive care nurse at
Northwell Health — experienced the horrors
of COVID-19 fi rsthand, with patient
aft er patient arriving in the ward, desperate
We cannot fear the unknown of possible side eff ects of COVID-19, none of which have been proven serious or long-lasting to this point.
for breath and life.
All the while, she and her colleagues
provide the best care they could, with the
best knowledge available — while putting
themselves at the risk of COVID-19 infection
themselves. Th ey’ve seen recoveries;
they’ve seen tragic losses.
Yet they persist and keep fi ghting the
fi ght few of us would dare to encounter
— their actions not unlike a cop running
toward an armed gunman, or a fi refi ghter
racing toward a burning building.
We owe it to the health care professionals
on the front lines, as much as we owe
it to ourselves and the people we care
about, to do as Lindsey said: to “believe in
science” and get the COVID-19 vaccine
when it’s fi nally available.
Photo by Dean Moses
We cannot listen to the untruths of antivaxxers.
We cannot fear the unknown
regarding possible side eff ects of the vaccine,
none of which have been proven
serious or long-lasting to this point.
Let’s put an end to the massive death and
pain of COVID-19. Let’s protect ourselves,
our loved ones, our health care heroes.
Let’s believe in science.
THE QUEENS
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
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Story: First female commanding offi cer appointed
to Long Island City’s 108th Precinct
Summary: Captain Lavonda Wise on Dec. 9 was
appointed as the commanding offi cer of the 108th
Precinct, which serves Long Island City, Sunnyside
and Woodside.
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