Biden awards Long Islanders Presidential Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON — A Port Washington nurse who was the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine outside clinical trials and a Southampton priest who has counseled U.S. presidents over the past four decades were awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Sandra Lindsay, 53, a critical-care nurse at Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, received her first dose of the vaccine on Dec. 14, 2020, when questions about the safety of the new vaccine were common.

Father Alexander Karloutsos, 76, is pastor of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons, and played a role in building of the chapel at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland.

Both were among 17 Americans honored at a White House ceremony.

The group included the late U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gymnast Simone Biles and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, an Arizona Democrat and gun violence survivor.

"This is America," Biden said, pointing to the recipients.

Speaking in the White House East Room, Biden described Karloutsos as a trusted "dear friend" and praised his half-century of service to the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States.

Biden called him one of the church's "most dedicated leaders."

Karloutsos served as vicar general of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America before retiring from the post last year, and counseled presidents dating back to Jimmy Carter.

Biden said Lindsay, "poured her heart into helping patients and to keep her fellow nurses safe."

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is for “individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” according to a White House statement.

“This is a celebration of America, because you can come over here from the divided places of the world, and you come to the United States of America and we’re Americans,” Karloutsos, who immigrated from Greece as a child, told Newsday.

“I think of my mom and dad, the American dream, and all the people along the way," Karloutsos said. "I served my community and my community raised me up, and I’m not only talking about the Greek Orthodox Church, but the community of Long Island.”

Lindsay said she was proud to represent the Jamaican American community, along with her “Northwell Health family, nurses and health care workers here in the nation, and all around the world.”

Lindsay, director of patient care services for LIJ’s division of critical care and a nurse for 29 years, said she was grateful Biden honored her in order “to shine the light" on health care workers.

“We stayed committed, we’re still committed, but right now we need healing ourselves,” Lindsay said. “We need resources for our mental health, and we need to decrease some of the stressors contributing to mental health such as student loan debt, health equity and women’s rights.”

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), speaking outside LIJ Thursday after an unrelated news conference about legislation to control insulin costs, said Lindsay's willingness to get vaccinated "took a lot of courage … Remember when they developed the vaccine, everyone said, ‘Oh, no, what are the side effects?"

Also, Schumer said, Lindsay "used her fame to advocate others to get the vaccine. The fact that someone like her got it and was OK paved the way for probably millions of others to get the vaccine.”

Karloutsos, called “Father Alex” by many parishioners, has helped raise millions of dollars in funding for the Saint Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center site in Manhattan.

He said he has known Biden for at least 40 years, and once accompanied Biden on a trip to Greece to meet with Greek Orthodox leaders. 

Karloutsos, whose father was a priest, and whose mother died when he was 9 years old, said he grieved with Biden after the death of the president’s son Beau Biden of brain cancer in 2015.

“We both went through tragedies,” Karloutsos said. “So when you go through those experiences of loss, you always look for something greater.”

During the East Room ceremony, Lindsay shared a moment on stage with McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, gently reaching out to hold her hand when she teared up when Biden spoke about the longtime Republican senator and one-time presidential candidate.

With James Carbone and Matthew Chayes

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.