Vaccinations Begin As U.S. Records 300,000th Coronavirus Death

The first COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States began Monday, offering hope on a day that saw another tragic milestone. NBC's Jennifer Bjorklund reports.

(NBC News) — The first COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States began Monday, offering hope on a day that saw another tragic milestone. The U.S. death toll has now topped 300,000.

New York Critical care nurse Sandra Lindsay was among the first in the nation to get the coronavirus vaccine.

“I’m just really happy to be part of the solution,” Lindsay said.

General distribution of the vaccine remains months away; critical health care workers and long term care residents are first in line.

Across the nation, the initial and unprecedented rollout has boxes of the precious vials simultaneously headed to 636 predetermined locations.

Nearly 3 million doses will be delivered during the first week, with millions more by year’s end. While it hopefully signals the beginning of the end of the pandemic, months of continued caution and social distancing still lie ahead.

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