When tens of thousands of Kansas City residents take to the roads and skies this holiday season, they will unknowingly spread germs as they go.
This could lead to increased transmission of infections, especially with childhood vaccination rates declining in most U.S. counties, according to NBC News and Stanford University. But doctors agree one effective way to reduce the spread is to wear a mask.
That’s where the Kansas City mutual aid group 816 COVID Crew comes in — by helping provide free, high-quality masks to the public.
“Just because the federal government ended the emergency declaration” doesn’t mean the danger is gone, said Theresa Collins, who's been with the group for more than a year. “COVID is still transmissible, and it's still affecting people across the country.”
The group supplies N95, KN95, KF94, and CAN99 masks, Collins said, all of which will keep you safer than a surgical or fabric mask. They go through several hundred masks a month, and see notable upticks around the winter holidays.
Collins also works with Clean Air KC, which has different resources to help clean air indoors, ideal if you are having a gathering for the holidays.
“We want to keep people as safe as possible and pool our resources to do that,” she said.
That’s especially crucial on holiday weeks like Thanksgiving, when the Kansas City Aviation Department projects 383,825 travelers will use the airport.
While that’s a 2.5% drop from last year, it's still enough to increase the risk of transmission.
And last week, the Kansas City Health Department confirmed travelers at Kansas City International Airport were exposed to a confirmed measles case in early November. The disease is highly contagious.
“High-traffic areas like bus stations, train stations, and, of course, airports — any place where people are gathering without good ventilation — would be a high-risk situation,” said Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director for the Infection Control and Prevention program at the University of Kansas Health System.
Unvaccinated people and infants under 1 year old, who are too young to be vaccinated, are at the highest risk of getting measles. But if you are up to date on your measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, your risk of getting sick is very low.
You can get the MMR vaccine at your doctor’s office, at CVS or Walgreens, or at the Kansas City Health Department Immunization Clinic from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Vaccines at the health department clinic are free for children under 18.
While doctors say vaccination is the best way to protect yourself, measles spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes, so masking can help as well.
816 COVID Crew will provide them free of charge. Pickup locations include Kansas City Library’s Bluford Branch, Turnsol Books, Jerusalem Farm, Farewell, The Raven Bookstore and KC Farm School.
“We don't expect anything,” Collins said. “The only paperwork you have to fill out, if you want to, is online, and it is the best way to meet you and (learn) what you want from us.”
“It's very accessible, that’s our goal,” she said.
