Almost 10 months into the pandemic, there's finally some hope for one of the city's most vulnerable populations. On Monday, nursing home patients and staff began receiving COVID-19 vaccines. 

Kelley Dixon, a 78-year-old resident at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, became one of the first seniors in the state to receive the life-saving shot.

“I feel blessed, I really do," Dixon said. "I put hints out there in the beginning and next thing I know they were calling me up, 'how would you like to be the first one?' I thought they were joking. I said 'of course' and they made it happen."

Dixon, who has been living in the Hebrew Home for 10 years, rolled up his sleeve on live television, marking a historic moment for the nursing home community.

“Today is the beginning of the end. We are finally, at 10 months, beginning to see light in the crack of darkness. Ironically, on the shortest day of the year, the sun will be shining at the Hebrew home,” said Daniel Reingold, president and CEO at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale.

The day couldn't come soon enough. Nursing homes across the state were hit particularly hard by the coronavirus. The Hebrew Home lost 54 of its residents. 

"The darkest days in the spring were the fear that we didn't know this was going to end and the feeling that this was an endless pandemic and that it would just go on and on and on,” Reingold said. “If somebody had told me on March 11 that on December 21, on the shortest day of the year, that sun would be shining as bright as can be with a vaccine, I wouldn't have believed it.”

The nearly 600 residents who have been in some sort of lockdown throughout the pandemic are excited and eager to receive the vaccine, according to Reingold.

Six different pharmacists were on site to administer the vaccine. Virtually 100% of residents have signed on to get vaccinated.

“People living here are incredibly resilient. A lot of them have reminded me, they’ve told me that, ‘Mr. Reingold we’ve been through world wars, we’ve been through the depression, we’ve been through the Holocaust, we’ve been through Polio, we’ll get through this,’ is what they tell me. And sure enough we’re getting through this,” Reingold said.

About 200 residents per day will be vaccinated through Wednesday, in addition to the 1,000 staff members.

Dixon, who was raised in Harlem, said he plans to see his grandchildren as soon as he can after getting his second dose three weeks from now. He also plans to visit his girlfriend, whom he hasn’t seen at all because he said he doesn’t know how to use Zoom. 

“She thinks I’m a hero, I must be special,” Dixon said laughing.

He said he’s also tough, but the experience of the pandemic is like nothing he’s ever seen before. His message to those who may be unsure about getting vaccinated is: “Take the shot take the shot. For all those skeptics, take the shot - that’s all I can say.”