Federal public health cuts could cost Texas $700 million
State and local health agencies are having to cut programs and staff to make up the loss and more cuts could be coming. Full Story
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Terri Langford
Health and Human Services Reporter
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Terri Langford is the Tribune's health and human services reporter based in Austin. Langford is a veteran journalist, having worked at the Florida Times Union, The Associated Press, The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, WNYC, Honolulu Civil Beat and Texas Standard/KUT. Langford has a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin. She has covered various city and state agencies, criminal justice and health and human services for the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Associated Press, WNYC and Texas Standard at KUT.
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![A funding meeting at the Texas Department of State Health Services building in Austin on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Among the topics discussed were concerns regarding federal funding and a current measles outbreak in parts of Texas.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
State offers specific measles guidance for 10 West Texas “outbreak” counties
State health officials added four more counties to what they consider “outbreak areas” and advise those visiting or living in those counties to consult measles vaccination guidance for those areas. Full Story
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![Signs inform people of measles prevention and testing at the Gaines County Court House in Seminole on Sunday on April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Health officials say federal cuts will hurt Texas’ measles response
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. Full Story
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![The City of Lubbock Health Department on Feb. 27, 2025.]()
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Parents of Texas child who died of measles stand by decision to not vaccinate
The measles vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective against the disease, which is highly contagious and can be life threatening. Full Story
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![Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock on Feb. 26, 2025. Covenant has added a patient screening check before entering the children's emergency entrance.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
After COVID, Texas is less prepared for the next pandemic
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. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Diana Branzan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials still don’t know how West Texas measles outbreak started
Texas’ health commissioner fielded questions from state lawmakers about the outbreak and vaccine risks. Full Story
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![An Austin Public Health truck is decorated with an advertisement encouraging vaccinations while parked outside the Austin Public Health office at the Bergstrom Technology Center in Austin, Feb. 28, 2025.]()
Credit: Sara Diggins-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images -
Texas leaders quiet amid the biggest measles outbreak in decades
Declining vaccination rates, decreasing trust in government and a political unwillingness to endorse vaccines is shaping Texas’ measles response. Full Story
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![Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock on Feb. 26, 2025. Covenant has added a patient screening check before entering the children's emergency entrance.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
First death in West Texas measles outbreak is unvaccinated child
More than 120 people across nine counties have been infected during the largest Texas outbreak in 30 years. Full Story
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![A measles testing sign in Seminole on Feb. 25, 2025. An outbreak in Gaines County has spread to other parts of the state.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Sebastian Rocandio -
Texas measles cases rise to 541. Here is what you need to know.
El Paso was the most recent county to report measles cases and is one of the furthest counties from the outbreak zone, 261 miles away from Gaines County. Full Story
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![Covenant Childrens hospital located in Lubbock on Feb. 26, 2025. Covenant has addd a patient screening check before entering the children's emergency entrance.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas foster home linked to boy’s death had history of fight clubs and sexual misconduct, report says
The death of an 11-year-old at a Greenville residential treatment center is among 16 deaths reported in the Texas foster care system in the last 15 months. Full Story
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![The Thompson’s Residential Treatment Center in Greenville on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune