Nov 24, 2021

Kansas health official: COVID cases rising ahead of holiday

Posted Nov 24, 2021 6:00 PM

TOPEKA (AP) — A Kansas health advisor says the coronavirus pandemic is starting to worsen in Kansas again as families prepare to gather over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that health advisor Marci Nielsen blames less mask use and more indoor gatherings.

Nielsen said the state is now seeing more than 1,000 cases a day. Nielsen told the governor’s Safer Classrooms Workgroup on Tuesday that the state’s vaccination rate for youth ages 12-17 has consistently been about seven percentage points below the national rate.

Fifty-four percent of all Kansans are fully vaccinated, which puts Kansas in the bottom half of all states and territories.