State, Partners Launch Mask Campaign

Kansas is launching a media campaign aimed at getting more of its residents to wear masks so that the coronavirus doesn’t keep spreading rapidly, though some officials are skeptical that it will move the needle much.

The state has set aside $1.5 million of its federal coronavirus relief funds for television, radio, print, and social media ads promoting masks.

The campaign starts this week, and runs into January or longer.

State officials believe private funding could follow later.

Some officials who’d like to see more people wearing masks, particularly in rural areas, worry that politics are driving resistance too much for the new campaign to be effective.

Others suggest that people are already bombarded with pro-mask messages and that new ones won’t get much attention.

Public health officials have long advised people to wear masks because doing so can prevent infected people from spreading the virus.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also say that masks also can protect wearers who are not infected, though to a lesser degree.