President Joe Biden was scheduled on Friday to honor the Long Island woman believed to be the first American vaccinated against COVID-19 outside clinical trials, while indicators of the virus continued to be low across Long Island and the state.
The seven-day average for positivity in test results was 0.48% statewide, 0.43% on Long Island, and 0.54% in New York City. Those numbers were slight increases over the last few days.
The number of new confirmed cases in test results from Thursday was 39 in Nassau County, 33 in Suffolk County, and 263 in New York City, according to state data.
Throughout the state, a total of four people died on Thursday of causes linked to the virus. One of the fatalities was in Nassau County.
“As far as we’ve come with the COVID beast, it is important to remember our fight is not over,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement. “The best weapon we have is the vaccine — it is safe, effective and free.”
Biden was to honor Sandra Lindsay on Friday as an “Outstanding American by Choice,” a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services program that recognizes citizens who have been naturalized.
Lindsay, a nurse who lives in Port Washington, received her first Pfizer-BioNTech shot Dec. 15, 2020, garnering national and worldwide attention as the United States began its fight to turn back the deadly virus through vaccinations.
An immigrant from Jamaica, Lindsay came to the United States more than three decades ago.
She oversees Long Island Jewish Medical Center’s ICU units. Her inoculation gave hope to millions of people that help was finally on the way to crush the virus.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
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