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Kansas Lags Behind Missouri In Infectious Disease Preparedness

Kansas lags behind Missouri in being prepared for infectious diseases. That’s according to a new report from the Trust for America’s Health. 

Both states lose points for low vaccination rates and for cutting funding for public health. Kansas also ranked low because it doesn’t require health facilities to report infections.

But Dr. Jeffrey Levi says our region isn’t the only place falling behind on those prevention measures.

“There are gaps in nearly every state’s ability to respond,” says Levi.

Missouri scored a six out of 10 key indicators, while Kansas scored four. The highest score went to New Hampshire, which scored an eight out of 10. Georgia, Nebraska and New Jersey scored the lowest in the report, meeting only three of the 10 criteria.

As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
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