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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Terri Langford is the Tribune's health 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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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.]()
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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.]()
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Texas measles cases rise to 597. Here is what you need to know.
Two more counties, Potter and Parmer, have reported a measles case. The outbreak has cost state taxpayers $4.5 million to pay for immunization, testing and a public awareness campaign. 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.]()
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Foster child death linked to state-contracted home prompts criminal investigation
The Greenville-based treatment center has closed after the death of an 11-year-old boy the day before Thanksgiving. Full Story
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![The Thompson’s Residential Treatment Center in Greenville, Texas on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Emil T. Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Two more state employees fired after accessing Texans’ private information
So far, nine HHSC employees have been fired for accessing without a “business” purpose the private information of Texans seeking public assistance that includes Medicaid and food stamps. Full Story
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![The Brown Heatly Health and Human Services building in Austin on Nov. 29, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
After Hurricane Beryl, Texas lawmakers push for generators at senior living facilities
After failed attempts in 2021 and 2023, southeast Texas lawmakers have filed bills to require generators in nursing homes and assisted living centers. Full Story
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![Nettie Carlisle, a cook at Ella Springs Senior Living Community in Houston, holds open the empty freezer at the assisted living center on July 12, 2024. All the food had to be thrown out after the widespread power outage caused by Hurricane Beryl.]()
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Donald Trump’s push to freeze federal funds sparks confusion in Texas
Texas cities, counties, higher education institutions and nonprofits clambered Tuesday to gauge the potential fallout from the suspension, later blocked temporarily by a federal judge. Full Story
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![U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Barria