Eisenhower Health receives first doses of Pfizer vaccine
The first frontline health care workers at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage were vaccinated Friday, as the first groups of shipments make their way into the valley.
"We needed a light at the very end of this dark tunnel, and I think this vaccine was that first step, that first beacon to get us through the pandemic," said Manny DeJesus, MD, an emergency medicine physician at Eisenhower Health.
DeJesus was the first at the hospital to be vaccinated, speaking with News Channel 3 just minutes after being injected with what some are calling the lifeline of this pandemic.
He said he hasn't experienced any side effects, but is preparing for that possibility.
"Sure, if I have to deal with a little fever, body aches here and there, that’s okay," DeJesus said. "I'm protecting my family; I'm protecting my dear mother in law, my colleagues."
You can watch the full briefing below:
The hospital received its first batch of the vaccine arrived in the hospital on Friday.
Frontline workers at the hospital received their first shot of the vaccine earlier today.
Joshua Hickman, BSN, RN, Manager, Eisenhower Health’s Tennity Emergency Department 
Manny DeJesus, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician, Eisenhower Health 
Jamila Holloway, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician Resident, Eisenhower Health
Earlier today, frontline workers at Riverside University Health Medical Center received the vaccine.
On Thursday, the first shipment of the vaccine arrived at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. Five medical professionals received the vaccine, become the first in the valley to do so.
The county expects to receive a total of 14,000 to 15,000 doses of the vaccine in this first shipments Our local hospitals (Desert Regional, JFK, and Eisenhower) will receive a total of 3,085 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Riverside County is expected to receive over 25,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine over the next two weeks.
The first group to be vaccinated includes healthcare workers at acute care hospitals with “direct patient contact who have potential for direct or indirect exposure.” The next phases of distribution will prioritize critical or vulnerable populations as well as the general population.
