Will Co. vaccine outreach gets a boost
Mapping technology is helping health officials bring pop-up clinics to communities in need
Will County is relying on the use of advanced mapping technology to help health officials pinpoint where to set up pop-up COVID19 vaccination clinics and how to reach underserved communities where vaccine hesitancy lingers.
Dashboards and interactive software designed by Esri, which also provides mapping technology during emergencies and disaster response, is helping health officials see vaccination rates and decide how to deploy resources to get more residents vaccinated.
Health department officials use the data when scheduling pop-up clinics at farmers markets, classic car shows, places of worship, schools, community festivals and even McDonald’s and Golden Corral restaurants, officials said.
About 60.6 % of Will County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 57.4 % of Will County residents are fully vaccinated, said Becky Colwell-Ongenae, the county’s geographic information system manager. The data include children, so county officials anticipate the percentages will rise once vaccines are authorized for children under age 12.
“We’ve made substantial progress,” Colwell-Ongenae said.
The technology allows officials to dive deeper into data and update information in real time, said Dr. Este Geraghty, chief medical officer for Esri. Health officials can view data on gender, race, age, income level and other factors to see who they need to encourage to get the vaccine, she said. They can also reach targeted populations, such as those who are homeless or homebound, she said.
Katie Weber, emergency response coordinator for the health department, said the information also helps identify vaccine hesitancy so officials know who to talk with about the importance of vaccination or to dispel misinformation.
“Without this, you are just guessing ... but when you can actually put it onto a map and visualize where the parts of the county that are lower in vaccination rates or higher in vaccination rates, I think it really helps.” — Katie Weber, emergency response coordinator
Then they can set up pop-up clinics to bring the vaccine to those neighborhoods, she said.
Mapping technology can also help health officials see where lower income residents, who may not have transportation to get to a vaccine clinic, live so they can bring a pop-up clinic to them, Weber said.
They can get information out in Spanish to serve highly Hispanic communities, Weber said. They also work to determine where homebound residents live so they can bring vaccines directly to their homes, she said.
Weber said the data helped with the logistical challenges of getting COVID-19 vaccines to people as the county shifted focus from mass vaccination clinics to targeted pop-up clinics.
“Without this, you are just guessing,” Weber said. “You have your idea of where your vaccination rates might be lower. You can try to do your own calculations, but when you can actually put it onto a map and visualize where the parts of the county that are lower in vaccination rates or higher in vaccination rates, I think it really helps. We can really focus our attention on the areas that actually need that education piece or a vaccine clinic.”
Weber said health officials continue to face the problem of convincing some people that the vaccine is safe and effective.
“I think we’ve done an excellent job of getting our community vaccinated,” Weber said. “However, we would love for that number to be higher just because the more people vaccinated, the more protected our community is and the closer we will be getting through this pandemic.”
The health department has scheduled pop-up vaccine clinics from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9 at Oktoberfest, 200 Second St., Manhattan; 8-10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13 at McDonald’s, 701 Oriole Drive, Peotone; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14 at McDonald’s, 901 Dixie Highway, Beecher; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct 16 at Golden Corral, 381 Brookview Lane, Bolingbrook; and 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, 1501 W Boughton Road, Bolingbrook.