New York City celebrated the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic with the Hometown Heroes Ticker Tape Parade in Manhattan on Wednesday.

This has been done in the past for sports teams, for astronauts, and world leaders, but today, it was all about those who got us through some of the darkest days of 2020.

The parade started in Battery Park at 11 a.m. with participants marching up Broadway to City Hall Park.

The parade featured 10 bands and 14 floats. On board were essential workers such as hospital and health care workers, educators, first responders and so many others who gave so much.

Leading the parade was Long Islander Sandra Lindsay, an ICU nurse who became the first person in the United States outside of a trial to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. She served as the grand marshal of today's parade.

PHOTO GALLERY: Behind the Scenes: Hometown Heroes Parade