Riverside County anticipates to vaccinate 12-to-15-year-olds as early as Friday

During Tuesday's Board of Supervisors Meeting, Dr. Geoffry Leung, Public Health Officer for Riverside County, said that county anticipates to vaccinate 12 to 15 year olds as soon as Friday or early next week. Dr. Leung explained that they are waiting for national approval and the state's approval to move forward.

You can watch it live beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the player below:

https://cloud.castus.tv/vod/rivcotv/embed/602fca4d096acb0007dd1d3a?page=HOME&type=live&embedID=602fca4d096acb0007dd1d3a

Planning for vaccine age expansion

The FDA expanded Pfizer's emergency use authorization permitting teenagers to be vaccinated, including children as young as 12 years old. Shots could begin after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopts the committee’s recommendation. The CDC advisory committee could give the final recommendation during its meeting on Wednesday.

Last week, News Channel 3 reported that Riverside County was preparing ahead of time for the potential announcement, ordering additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

"We are asking for more, we're asking for more Pfizer for next week," said Michael Osur, Assistant Director of Public Health for Riverside County told News Channel 3 on May 6.

https://youtu.be/vXgu2IfO5To

The county currently vaccinates 16 and 17 year olds, however, they must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian in order to get vaccinated.

Indio site targeted for asylum-seeker COVID testing

On Monday, News Channel 3 reported that Riverside County is working with the state and city officials to open a COVID-19 testing site in Indio for immigrants seeking asylum.

https://youtu.be/kPr1lfiLehw

The new testing site will be located at 82025 Highway 111 near Monroe Street.

Brooke Federico, public information officer for Riverside County, said the testing site is being stood up at the request of the county.

"Up until now, the county has been doing the testing in the field with limited resources. The state testing site will support ensuring the safety of Riverside County residents, employees providing services, as well as the immigrants seeking asylum," Federico wrote to News Channel 3.

Tracking tier progression

Riverside County officials are hopeful the county will continue progressing through the state tier system and into the 'yellow' tier in coming weeks. On Monday, Riverside County reports 109 new cases, 1 death, & 252 recoveries since Friday.

Check out the county map below
(Note Data will continue to update past today)

Metrics Update

Riverside County continued to inch closer to a move into the yellow tier but the move could still be few weeks away from reaching the yellow tier.

• 3.4 adjusted case rate (Last week - 3.9)
• 1.9% positivity rate (Last Week - 2.1%)
• 1.9% health equity rate (Last Week - 2.1%)

California is set to lift most restrictions on June 15. The mask mandate will remain in place after restrictions are lifted.

Riverside County COVID Vaccine Appointments

According to Riverside County, 48.2% of the county's population (or 938,492 people) are either partially of fully vaccinated. 36.5% of the population, or 710,362 residents, are fully vaccinated.

COVID vaccine clinics are open across Riverside County for all residents 16 and older. You can schedule an appointment at: https://www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine. 

Seniors who need assistance can dial 2-1-1.

Those who register must show proof of age/employment at the time of appointment.

Residents under 18 must have a parent or guardian with them when arriving to their vaccine appointment.

Check Out: Riverside County expands COVID vaccine eligibility to those 16 & older starting April 6

Download the News Channel 3 app on the Apple Store or Google Play to get alerts on when new appointments or vaccine clinics are available.

Testing

Riverside County have conducted 3,003,525 coronavirus tests since the pandemic began.

County health officials are urging the public to continue getting tested, which helps slow the spread of the virus and may contribute to Riverside County moving into the red tier.

Where to get tested

Remember, you can get tested even if you do not have symptoms. Testing is available to all county residents.

You are now able to get a free test at many Rite-Aids in the area. Click here for a full list of stores and to schedule your appointment.

Click here to find the closest testing site to you

Find County Testing Sites

Deaths and Recoveries

Riverside County reported 1 additional COVID-19 deaths. The total number of deaths is 4,588.

Riverside County reported 252 recoveries since Friday. There are a total of 293,272 recoveries in Riverside County.

Hospitalizations

COVID-related hospitalizations increased by 7 patients since Friday, bringing the total to 70.

The total number of COVID patients in the ICU increased by 2 patients. This brings the total down to 19 patients. The all-time low for COVID ICU patients is 13 which was set on March 29, 2020.

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The SoCal region's ICU availability percentage is at 34.4%. The state's four-week projection has the availability going up to 36.2%.

Cases in Coachella Valley Cities and Communities (As of 05/10/21)

· Bermuda Dunes
Confirmed Cases: 651
Deaths: 10
Recovered: 639

· Cabazon
Confirmed Cases: 324
Deaths: 7
Recovered: 316

· Cathedral City
Confirmed Cases: 7,134
Deaths: 110
Recoveries: 6,983

· Coachella
Confirmed Cases: 7,911
Deaths: 95
Recovered: 7,792

· Desert Edge
Confirmed Cases: 342
Deaths: 16
Recovered: 326

· Desert Hot Springs
Confirmed Cases: 4,221
Deaths: 73
Recovered: 4,133

· Desert Palms
Confirmed Cases: 259
Deaths: 24
Recovered: 235

· Garnet
Confirmed Cases: 898
Deaths: 19
Recovered: 877

· Indian Wells
Confirmed Cases: 197
Deaths: 6
Recovered: 188

· Indio
Confirmed Cases: 12,307
Deaths: 223
Recoveries: 12,035

· La Quinta
Confirmed Cases: 3,428
Deaths: 61
Recovered: 3,350

· Mecca
Confirmed Cases: 1,134
Deaths: 19
Recovered: 1,114

· North Shore
Confirmed Cases: 358
Deaths: 1
Recovered: 357

· Oasis
Confirmed Cases: 881
Deaths: 9
Recovered: 872

· Palm Desert
Confirmed Cases: 3,955
Deaths: 118
Recovered: 3,814

· Palm Springs
Confirmed Cases: 3,741
Deaths: 125
Recovered: 3,604

· Rancho Mirage
Confirmed Cases: 1,100
Deaths: 50
Recovered: 1,045

· Sky Valley
Confirmed Cases: 224
Deaths: 5
Recovered: 219

· Thermal
Confirmed Cases: 470
Deaths: 9
Recovered: 461

· Thousand Palms
Confirmed Cases: 1,048
Deaths: 9
Recovered: 1,036

· County Jails
There are 939 cases in the County's jails, with 1 death, and 935 recoveries.·

· State Jails
There are 5,472 cases in the state's jails and 5,465 recoveries.