Frontline employee at one of New York’s hardest-hit hospitals to be vaccinated. Arlene Ramirez, RN, knows the devastation coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can wreak firsthand. The 44-year-old from Queens is director of patient care for the emergency department at Long Island Jewish Valley Stream, one of the hardest-hit hospitals during the first wave. She was stricken by the virus in March and it also eventually claimed the life of her father. While Ms. Ramierez returned to work after just three weeks, she worries about COVID-19 as cases rise in the region once again. With long-term immunity an open question for those previously diagnosed with COVID-19, Ms. Ramierez, a mother of two, has volunteered to be the first Northwell Health employee to receive the Moderna vaccine when it arrives at the hospital on Monday. “Not knowing whether I was going to make it was a horrible feeling,” Ms. Ramirez said. “The gasping for air, the fevers and headaches – I don’t want to go through that again. And I don’t want to put my family through that. If the Moderna vaccine is a measure to decrease that risk, then why not?” This important phase in the war on COVID-19 kicked off last week with the arrival of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine. More than 4,400 Northwell frontline employees have been vaccinated in the week since. Moderna’s vaccine received emergency approval by the FDA late Friday and the health system is expecting shipments to arrive at area hospitals on Monday. Nearly 36,000 lives have been lost to COVID-19 across New York State since the beginning of the pandemic. With Michael Dowling, president and CEO, Northwell Health Arlene Ramirez, RN, director, patient care, ED, Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Michelle Chester, DNP, director, employee health services, Northwell (to administer vaccine) Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, nearly 800 outpatient facilities and more than 14,200 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 74,000 employees – 18,500 nurses and 4,500 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties. Visit https://www.northwell.edu/ Subscribe to Northwell Health’s YouTube http://bit.ly/2wPz7on or head to our channel null The Well - https://thewell.northwell.edu/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/northwellhealth Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/northwellhealth Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/northwellhealth LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin/northwellhealth