Vaccine Equity Manager Hired by Will County's Health Department

JOLIET, IL — A native of Joliet who was most recently employed as a health equity manager for the Spanish Community Center in Joliet has been hired to fill the newly created job of vaccine equity manager at the Will County Health Department.

One of the biggest challenges over the last 15 months has been reaching people disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Will County Health Department news release announcing Thursday's hiring of Vinita Voss.

“It’s important to work with community partners, especially those that have earned the trust of our black and brown communities who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Voss said in the news release. “Partners such as community-based organizations can assist us with communicating the importance of vaccinations, and provide direct resources such as food assistance, housing assistance, transportation assistance, and more."

The health department said the Vaccine Equity Manager is a position that at many local community leaders advocated for to address the needs of underserved communities.

“We want to use a collaborative and comprehensive approach to reach residents, address their needs and concerns, and provide them vaccine education and equitable access,” Voss said in Thursday's news release announcing her hiring. “Right now, through our communities, we need to build vaccine confidence. So much more must be done when it comes to vaccinating against COVID-19. For some there is mistrust of government, while for others there is a mistrust of medicine, or sometimes both. Other issues such as transportation or the times of vaccination clinics may also serve as a barrier to getting vaccinated.”

According to Will County, Voss graduated from Joliet West High School and from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia with a bachelor's in political science. Voss also has a law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Before going to work at the Spanish Community Center in Joliet, she worked as a partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau on the 2020 Census.

Thursday's news release from Will County's Health Department indicated Voss was filling a newly created position, but the county did disclose her salary in its news release.

Joliet Patch has reached out to health department spokesman Steve Brandy for more information about the salary for the vaccine equity manager position, and this article will be updated once those details are known.