The Latest Breaking News from the Texas Department of State Health Services

In school districts and charter networks with the most vaccine delinquencies, as many as 44% of kindergarteners were not complying with state requirements. The post More Texas kindergarteners coming to school without measles vaccination proof or exemptions appeared first on The Texas Tribune.

Previously, parents had to wait for the state to mail them the exemption form. They still have to get the form notarized before submitting it to the school for enrollment purposes.

Fear of babies contracting the contagious and potentially deadly virus has spurred the surge in vaccinations amid Texas’ historic measles outbreak.

During a visit to College Station, the U.S. health secretary said Europe has a worse track record with the virus, which gets too much media attention.

Collin County has reported its first measles case, but it is not yet considered part of the ongoing outbreak from West Texas.

Federal grants paid for workers to help with measles testing and vaccination in Lubbock and were going to help equip a Dallas lab to test for pathogens, including measles.

Public health experts say Texas needs better messaging on vaccinations and quarantining and more people conducting contact tracing to contain the spread.

Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold.

The legislation would require voters to approve the $3 billion start-up cost, and then the fund would be maintained at no more than $300 million annually.