Vaccinations

Public health experts attribute the current outbreak to declining vaccination levels.

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.

Under Senate Bill 7, which now heads Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, private employers in Texas can’t require workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Any found in violation of the ban would be fined $50,000.

In Texas, students entering kindergarten at public schools are required to have up-to-date vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and Hepatitis A. Ten percent of toddlers haven't even started the series.

The bivalent vaccines offer protection against both the original strain of COVID and the omicron variants. The updated recommendations aim to simplify the vaccination schedule in the U.S.

The local public health agency wants Austinites to get their vaccinations up to date before changes in federal policy potentially affect the availability of free shots.

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.

NPR talks to Claire Hannan, who has helped navigate vaccine rollouts in all 50 states, about some of the challenges involved in quickly getting shots out to millions of young kids.

Lack of trust in the COVID vaccine is the main reason Hispanics in Texas have cited for not getting vaccinated, according to the study.

CDC advisers are recommending the use of two separate COVID-19 vaccines for the youngest children made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, paving the way for vaccine rollout as early as next week.