Vial with first dose of COVID-19 to be displayed by Smithsonian Museum By Ashraf Khalil NYC nurse receives first COVID vaccine A critical care nurse from Queens was the first person to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the United States. NEW YORK - The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has acquired the vial that contained the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine administered in the United States as part of its plans to document the global pandemic and "this extraordinary period we were going through." The acquisition, along with other materials related to that first vaccine dose, was announced by the museum on Tuesday to mark the upcoming one-year anniversary of the pandemic. Associated Press journalists were given an exclusive backstage look at the newly obtained materials, which include vials, special shipping equipment and the medical scrubs and ID badge of the New York City nurse who was America's first coronavirus vaccine recipient.