Will County focuses outreach to unvaccinated residents as demand for shots slows

About 30% of Will County’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19

The head of the Will County Health Department discussed her team’s efforts to continue outreach to residents who have yet to be vaccinated for COVID-19 as demand for shots has declined in recent weeks.

Sue Olenek, the executive director of the county health department, spoke to the Will County Board’s Public Health and Safety Committee on Wednesday about the state of the local pandemic response.

More than 208,000 Will County residents, or about 30% of the population, have been fully vaccinated, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Olenek said vaccination trends in the county seem to reflect trends across the state, including a recent decline in demand.

“We are seeing a drop off in the number of appointments that are being requested,” Olenek said. “There was a point when we had more people interested in the vaccine than we had appointments, because we didn’t have enough vaccine.”

The county saw an average high of about 7,900 shots being administered per day on April 18, but that pace has since decreased to about 4,300 shots per day.

Olenek said the five mass vaccination sites the county runs in Joliet, Wilmington and Monee have all begun to accept walk-ins due to the low demand. She said some of those clinics are planning to wind down by sometime in June or July.

She also spoke to her department’s efforts to reach certain demographic groups who continue to be underrepresented among those who have already been vaccinated. Specifically, Olenek said the health department is focusing on Black and Latino residents, LGBTQ residents, veterans, men and unhoused individuals, while using data to get to them.

“We think we know what areas need to be done, but I think we also need to look at the data and see what it tells us,” she said.

The Will County Health Department also recently hired a vaccine equity manager, Vinita Voss, of Shorewood. She has experience working with local community based organizations and in a similar outreach roll with the 2020 U.S. Census.

Olenek said Voss is designing a survey to gather more data on why certain populations may not have been vaccinated yet.

She added that the health department is looking to venture out to various community events in the coming weeks and months to provide convenient opportunities for residents to get a shot. The health department will also have to plan for when vaccines become authorized for use in people ages 12 to 15.

For more information, including on where to find a vaccination clinic, visit willcountyhealth.org.