Public Health

Vaccination eliminated measles from the U.S. 25 years ago. But it can still spread in pockets where vaccination rates are low, like the West Texas county with a current outbreak. Here's how fast.

Pflugerville ISD told parents of students at Windermere Elementary on Thursday that a student had been diagnosed with the highly contagious disease. On Friday morning, Austin Public Health said there was no measles case.

Construction workers broke ground on the Del Valle Health and Wellness Center back in 2022, but then things stalled. The growing area has long been a health care desert.

Bernie Tiede, whose murder of a Texas widow was immortalized by Richard Linklater, is suing the state over what he calls its “cruel and unusual” treatment of inmates in hot prisons.

Thousands of Texans with intellectual disabilities live in group homes. The group home system is struggling to retain workers under the low base wage the state legislature set last year.

Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith has spent decades framing violence as a public health issue. She spoke to Morning Edition about how guns fit into that picture and what prevention would look like.

The CDC late last month reported Texas and New York have seen the high number of flu cases this season, so far. KERA’s Sam Baker talked about this with Dr. Donna Casey, an internist with Texas Health Dallas.

Cases in the U.S. are 10 times higher than they were a month ago. Researchers advise that the coming days and weeks will be crucial as to whether the outbreak can be contained.

The World Health Organization on Saturday declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. The move is aimed at boosting coordination and sharing of resources and information among nations.

A coalition of religious groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican attorneys general have chipped away at local and state authority, altering how the nation can respond during health crises.