When a New York nurse became the first American to receive a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the FDA in December, it was a moment that would go down in history. Now, the first vial of the vaccine is going to a history museum, to be shown at an exhibition planned for next year.
On Wednesday (March 10), the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History announced that it had purchased the now empty vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine used for that historic injection, which was administered to intensive care nurse Sandra Lindsay on 14 March. December, according to a Smithsonian statement. Other materials, including Lindsay’s vaccination card, hospital uniform and identification badge, will also be part of the museum’s collection, the statement said.
The materials were donated by Northwell Health, the health care system in New York where Lindsay works. Northwell Health also donated other materials related to the first doses of the vaccine, including the special shipping materials needed to keep the vaccine at ultra-low temperatures.
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“These now historic artifacts document not only this remarkable scientific progress, but represent the hope offered to millions who live during the cascading crises caused by COVID-19,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the museum’s director, in the statement.
Since April 2020, the museum has collected artifacts to document the pandemic and its effects on society. Some artifacts offered to the museum include garbage bags that health professionals use when the stock of protective equipment is low and signs that people give to show support to their loved ones who are locked in assisted care facilities. according to Smithsonian Magazine.
The museum’s collection already contains a number of historical items related to science and medicine, including the penicillin mold from Alexander Fleming’s laboratory and the original by Jonas Salk polio vaccine, the statement said.
The museum is working on a 3,500-square-foot exhibition entitled “In Sickness and in Health”, which will feature items related to America’s efforts to control and cure diseases, as objects of the campaign to eradicate smallpox, as well as objects from the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition, which will also include Northwell Health bottles, is planned to open in 2022, Smithsonian Magazine reported.
Originally published on Live Science.