Starting this Monday, the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas will do its part to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The property will be offering a vaccination spot for Nevada residents Monday through Friday of each week. The facility will be able to increase its hours as the program grows, providing even more ways for residents to be vaccinated. The goal is to ensure that the facilitation of the vaccine can take place as quickly as possible.
Offering Vaccinations
Starting on January 18, the Encore in Las Vegas will offer the vaccination center. It will be located at the convention space of the property which is situated near the self-parking garage of the casino. It will be titled the UMC COVID-19 Vaccination Center and it will function during the weekdays as a spot for vaccinations in Las Vegas.
Residents who meet the current criteria will be able to be vaccinated at the facility. CEO of Wynn Resorts, Matt Maddox, said that Wynn offered the property as a vaccination location so that the distribution of the vaccine could be offered quickly and efficiently
Wynn Resorts first started working with UMC last year with an onsite employee testing program. At that time, the goal was to ensure that healthy employees could keep working and those with COVID-19 could be quarantined. Because this program was such a success, Wynn felt comfortable working with UMC again in the vaccination process.
Right now, the vaccinations are offered to those who are 70 years of age or older as well as healthcare employees and first responders. Eventually, other residents will become eligible. As this happens, more space needs to be provided so that everyone eligible can be in and out quickly, receiving the vaccine in a timely manner.
UMC does require appointments, so those who do qualify will need to contact the office in advance to schedule an appointment.
Affected by COVID-19
The casinos in Las Vegas like the Encore have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the 10+ months, the virus has been an issue, we have seen casinos in the city shut down for months. After the initial shutdown, the casinos were allowed to reopen but at a limited capacity.
Still limited on what they can offer as well as how many people can come inside, the casinos are struggling to bring in revenues. People are less likely to travel now, so that city has had to rely on traffic from the state as well as nearby Arizona and California.
People are not traveling like they used to because of the pandemic. Everyone wants to stay safe and try to avoid the virus and going to a casino does not seem to be a good idea. Even if the properties are doing everything, they can to keep employees and patrons safe.
The hope in the casino industry, as well as the US as a whole, is that the vaccination will be successful, and the number of positive case counts will decrease dramatically. If it does, we can return to some sense of normalcy.
