Free Flu Shots Offered At Lake Elsinore's Diamond Stadium

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Riverside County health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated against influenza and have planned three drive-up flu-shot clinics at different locations throughout the county, it was announced Thursday.

The first drive-up clinic is Friday (Oct. 16) at the Lake Elsinore Stadium; the second is Monday (Oct. 19) at the old Sears location in Riverside (5265 Arlington Ave.); and the third is Oct. 26 at the Indio Fairgrounds.

All three clinics start at 9 a.m. and run until 1 p.m. There is no cost and no appointment necessary.

“It is so important to get vaccinated against the flu, especially during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Kim Saruwatari, director of Riverside County Public Health Department. “The symptoms of the flu mirror those of COVID-19, so getting vaccinated against influenza gives you one less thing to worry about when it comes to your health. The flu can be life-threatening in rare cases, so this is not something you want to put off.”

In late September, a man in his 80s from the San Jacinto Valley was reported as Riverside County’s first flu-related death of the 2020-21 flu season. There were eight flu-related deaths in the 2019-20 flu season and nine deaths in 2018-2019 for residents under age 65, which is the required age range for reporting by California Department of Public Health, county officials said.

Flu season comes as health officials and the community cope with the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 1,200 lives in Riverside County. There have been more than 62,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county and 56,000 recoveries.

For more information about influenza, click www.rivcoimm.org.