Immunizations

Ten cases of measles have been reported in Texas this year, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said in a statement Wednesday. The 10th case is an adult who was visiting Guadalupe County from the Philippines, where there is an ongoing measles outbreak, the statement said.

Although an anti-vaccine movement has continued to grow in Texas, the vast majority of voters support requiring vaccinations for Texas children, results from a poll released this week show. This is the third public opinion survey with very similar findings to be released in Texas in the past nine months.

Texas physicians should be on the lookout for mumps as health officials investigate multiple cases of the infectious disease in immigration centers throughout the state.

Polio once terrified Americans. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the virus crippled around 35,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because polio often attacked abdominal muscles used to breathe, many died or permanently needed a respirator called an iron lung.

When a recent study named Fort Worth as a "hotspot" for families seeking vaccine exemptions, Terri Andrews was not surprised. As president of the Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County, she's been watching for years as anti-vaccination efforts have produced an explosion in families opting out of getting shots.

It may seem like the sensible thing to do, but no, you can’t make everyone in your practice get a flu shot.

One of the most contentious areas of health policy over the past two decades has been the safety of vaccination. Vaccines prevent the outbreak of diseases that used to be widespread. Yet many Americans refuse or delay the vaccination of their children out of fear that it could lead to autism, even though scientific consensus refutes this claim.

Vaccinations are one of the safest and most cost-effective ways to prevent infectious diseases. While Texas has worked to vaccinate more young children, coverage rates for this age group are not improving in Texas or the United States. In fact, overall rates may actually be declining. Much of this is due to parental decisions not to vaccinate their children, exposing entire communities to potential outbreaks.

Most Republican voters want schoolchildren to have their shots before going to school, according to a recent Texas survey.

Houston, Fort Worth, Plano, and Austin are among the cities in the nation with the highest number of kindergartners who have not received vaccinations because of nonmedical reasons, according to the study published this week in the journal PLOS Medicine.

To help improve HPV vaccination rates, the Texas Medical Association joined with a coalition of more than 40 other organizations Tuesday to announce a renewed statewide immunization campaign to prevent HPV-related cancers.

Be Wise — Immunize™ is a public health initiative of TMA. The program works with physicians, medical students, and TMA Alliance members to improve vaccination rates in Texas through education and hands-on immunization clinics. TMA members can receive up to $2,500 for a vaccination event.

TMA supports efforts to increase immunization rates in Texas, including improve the state’s current immunization tracking system, ImmTrac; improving immunization education efforts for providers and parents; addressing public and private vaccine financing issues; and addressing vaccine shortages.