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We connect, educate and advocate to ensure access to vaccines and increase immunization.
The overload of information, and misinformation, about vaccines requires insight from a qualified network of scientific experts.
State law directs public health practices and can create effective interventions for increasing immunization rates.
Texas' strength depends on the health of its citizens. We advocate every day to keep Texans strong.
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Burke: Deadly measles outbreak does little to counter vaccine scepticism in Texas
On an unusually crisp April day in a rural Texas town, dozens of Mennonite community members gathered alongside the nation’s top health official, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to mourn the death of an eight-year-old.
Daisy Hildebrand is the second unvaccinated girl from the community to die from measles in two months.
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ALERT – 2025 Texas Measles Outbreak
What We Know – Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Reports (as of April 15):
• 561 cases of measles confirmed in South Plains and other areas of Texas
• Two deaths in Texas, one in New Mexico
• Cases are across 23 counties
• Age breakdown: 0-4 years (175 cases), 5-17 years (206 cases), 18+ years (156 cases), Pending (24 cases)
• 58 hospitalizations
• Majority of cases are in unvaccinated people
April 6, 2025. The Department of State Health Services announced a second child dying from measles.
March 16, 2025. The Houston Health Department announced a travel-associated measles case in an infant and unrelated to the South Plains outbreak.
February 25, 2025. The Department of State Health Services also issued an advisory about measles exposure in San Marcos and San Antonio.
Gaines County, in the lower pandhandle, has one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in Texas. In the 2023-2024 school year, Gaines County had the lowest kindergarten MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination rate (81.97%) among several West Texas counties, significantly trailing behind Lubbock (92.95%), Ector (Odessa) (91.28%), and Midland (94.77%). At least 95% vaccination coverage is needed to prevent measles outbreaks and protect vulnerable populations. (CDC, WHO).