Health & Fitness
Palm Springs Convention Center Opens As COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic
Riverside County has opened a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Palm Springs Convention Center, and a 94-year-old was first in line.
PALM SPRINGS, CA — Riverside County has opened a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Palm Springs Convention Center, and a 94-year-old resident was first in line to get inoculated.
"I feel great and I'm just so thankful I was able to get it," Palm Springs nonagerian Betty Snavely said. "I'm 94 and I thought I needed all the help I could get to get through to 100."
Santa Clara-based Curative Inc., which has been tapped to oversee numerous testing sites in Riverside County, is inoculating people who live and work in Riverside County with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the site, which will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Find out what's happening in Palm Desertfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to the Riverside University Health System, 500 appointments for Monday opened early Friday afternoon and were all filled before 1 p.m., continuing a trend seen at vaccine sites throughout the county in recent weeks stemming from an influx of demand and a shortage of supply.
The appointments for Friday were snapped up within 90 minutes on Thursday.
Find out what's happening in Palm Desertfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Curative, which is handling the appointment scheduling, did not respond to a request for comment seeking information about how often the company would be offering appointment slots. But Riverside County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said an estimated 500 appointments are expected to be available daily, but dependent on the vaccine supply.
"We recommend residents monitor the Curative website for updates on available appointments," Federico said.
Appointments for the site are required and can be made at https://curative.com/sites/25163. Anyone who needs assistance can call the county's 211 help line.
The vaccinations are free, but Curative personnel will be collecting proof of eligibility such as employee badges, business identification and letters from employers.
All residents 65 years and over are eligible to receive vaccinations, as well as qualifying workers identified in Phase 1B of the California Department of Public Health's guidelines, including hospital workers, first responders, teachers and some agricultural workers.
The Palm Springs Convention Center is located at 277 N. Avenida Caballeros.
—City News Service
