Another advocated for people to make their own choice on whether to mask up or not. One speaker claimed the city’s mandate was “purely fear-based” and said masking wasn't effective. Still, a few stood in the back of city council chambers Wednesday, holding signs against the mandate and cheering for those who spoke against the mandate in public comment. The number of demonstrators protesting the mandate paled i n comparison to last month’s raucous meeting. "Should we have a serious flu outbreak at the same time that we're continuing to deal with this pandemic, I'm not certain we have the capacity to deal with both," Thompson said. Thompson says that's a concern as flu season approaches. While local health systems are seeing a downtick in COVID-19 hospitalizations, capacity is still under pressure as they continue to face nursing shortages. At this pace, Thompson said the city will not reach a 60% vaccination rate until April 2022. The city’s vaccination rate is also lagging with only about 44% of residents being fully vaccinated. However, Thompson said that decline is only taking place in those over the age of 18, while case numbers in school-age children have increased significantly. “We have seen some tapering off since the mask order was put in place, but we’re still not out of the woods yet,” said Frank Thompson, interim director of the city’s health department. Health officials warn that removing masks now poses a serious risk to children under age 12, who currently are too young to get vaccinated.Īt a city council committee meeting Wednesday, the Kansas City Health Department reported that case numbers and hospitalizations have decreased since the city reissued its mask mandate. Kansas City is requiring anyone older than age 5 to wear a face covering indoors in public places, regardless of vaccination status. “One of the reasons we wear these masks, maybe the predominant reason, is not just to keep ourselves safe as individuals but to keep our society, our fellow citizens safe,” Shields said. Ahead of the vote, councilwoman Katheryn Shields reminded her colleagues that the face coverings are not just to protect the wearer.
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