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Talk to Patients About: Varicella - 09/19/2024

The varicella-zoster virus  does double-duty: It can cause chickenpox when you’re young and reactivate later in life as a painful, blistery rash called shingles. Well, there’s a vaccine for each disease.

Talk to Patients About: Rubella - 09/19/2024

The virus that causes rubella often appears deceptively mild — so mild in fact that one-quarter to half of people infected with it will have no symptoms at all, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vaccination is the best protection.

Talk to Patients About: Breakthrough Infections for COVID-19 Vaccinations - 09/13/2024

 The new mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 are highly effective at giving people immunity against the disease. But as with all other vaccines, that immunity is not 100% for everyone who receives them.  

Reviewers Required for Rural Revenue Recipients - 09/10/2024

If you understand rural health needs and have some time to help facilities in those areas seek state funding, the State Office of Rural Health needs your help.

CMS Ups Seasonal Flu Vaccine Payment - 09/09/2024

On Aug. 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services increased payments to physicians for influenza vaccines and updated which codes physicians should use when billing for the service during the 2024-25 flu season.

Science: Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism; Physicians Fight to Reassure, Immunize - 08/09/2024

Physicians repeat it over and over: Vaccines like the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine do not cause autism; they are safe and effective. Yet the decades-old false claim that vaccines do cause autism has convinced millions of parents not to give their children potentially lifesaving shots and could lead more to opt out, according to Texas physicians.

Long COVID Definition Created to Help Physicians, Patients - 08/01/2024

To better understand and manage “long COVID”, physicians must first be able to define the condition – so far impossible with no set parameters or qualifications. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently moved to rectify that problem as a committee of experts created a consensus definition.

New Poster Encourages Flu Vaccination Amid COVID-19 - 07/22/2024

“COVID-19 is here, but so is the flu.” That is the message of a new downloadable poster available from the Texas Medical Association’s Be Wise – Immunize program to help you stress the need for flu vaccination, this year more than ever.

TMA Grants to Help Your Practice Improve Local Vaccination Rates - 07/16/2024

Apply for a grant. Vaccines Defend What Matters (formerly Be Wise – Immunize) is TMA’s integrated, multimedia public health education and advocacy effort to overcome vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccination rates in Texas. 

Coming Up Short: TMA Workforce Report Underscores Access Challenges, Advocacy Wins - 05/06/2024

While the study highlights positive growth facilitated by TMA’s ongoing advocacy, it shows shortages that mirror those across the health care professional workforce and that are particularly entrenched in rural areas; it also reveals challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and by other factors, economic or otherwise, that have complicated Texas' practice environment and impacted recruitment.

TMA Moment In Time: Pandemic Response - 04/09/2024

The strength of organized medicine carried TMA and Texas physicians through an unprecedented public health crisis and beyond.

TMA Vaccination Grants Connect Hard-to-Reach Patients; Apply by May 1 - 03/28/2024

Dozens of patients in the Lubbock area are up to date on their vaccinations thanks to a local impact grant from the Texas Medical Association, which has opened the latest 2024 application cycle for vaccine outreach programs until May 1.

Mumps: Virus Causes Puffy Cheeks and Sometimes, Serious Complications - 03/27/2024

The bottom line: Mumps is a viral contagious disease. People know mumps for patients’ swollen cheeks and jaw, but patients also suffer fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite. Outbreaks occur every year in the United States and Texas. The MMR vaccine protects people against this disease.

New Law Prohibits Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates, With Exceptions - 02/28/2024

Thanks to advocacy by the Texas Medical Association, guardrails for patient safety and practice viability are included in a new state law that prohibits employers, including physician offices and health care facilities, from mandating COVID-19 vaccines among employees.

Measles: Updated Information and Resources Available to Fight Rising Cases - 02/21/2024

As measles cases continue to rise in Texas and across the U.S., the Texas Medical Association and Texas Hospital Association have created a document to help physicians and other health care professionals combat the highly contagious respiratory illness. The document provides the latest recommendations for diagnosing and reporting measles, immunizations, infection prevention and control, and post-exposure prophylaxis and exclusion.

Pregnant? Make Sure You’re Vaccinated to Protect Yourself, Baby From Disease - 02/21/2024

Vaccinations before and during pregnancy are important to protect both mother and baby. Three vaccinations are recommended: flu, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis), and MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella).

Hospitals, Especially Rural Ones, Face Increased Risk of Closure as Pandemic Funds Dwindle - 01/29/2024

Now approaching the fourth year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas hospitals are still reeling from its impact, facing elevated expenses, depressed patient volume, and tighter margins compared with prepandemic numbers. Rural hospitals, in particular, are at a significantly higher risk of closing.

Apply for a Grant to Help Promote Vaccines - 12/14/2023

More than ever, medicine needs its soldiers to promote the safety, efficacy, and importance of vaccines.

FDA Approves New RSV Vaccine, COVID-19 Booster - 10/19/2023

Physicians will have a new vaccine in their arsenal to help protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a timely development as cold, flu, and COVID-19 illnesses tend to converge and ramp up this time of year and become difficult to differentiate.

Leading in Crisis: Diana L. Fite, MD, Carried TMA During COVID-19 Pandemic - 10/03/2023

Diana L. Fite, MD, carried TMA during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Build Immunization Awareness During August - 09/11/2023

If you weren’t already aware, August is National Immunization Awareness Month. As a physician, you’re aware of how important vaccines are for public health. But some of your patients might not know or understand the benefits of getting vaccinated. Whether you’re talking to parents of young children, senior citizens, or anyone in between, TMA’s Be Wise – Immunize has some tools you can use.

Update: Ten Measles Cases Reported in Texas - 09/11/2023

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. 

Using Social Media to Curb HPV on Campus - 09/11/2023

With funding help from the TMA Foundation, the association’s philanthropic arm, more than 100 students at Angelo State University in San Angelo and Tyler Junior College in Tyler received free HPV shots at their schools’ health fairs March 5 and 7.

Talk To Your Patients About: Mumps - 09/11/2023

The March issue of Texas Medicine highlights mumps, which spreads easily through sneezing and coughing, or just touching infected surfaces. A vaccine, first introduced in 1967, reduced U.S. cases by 99 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Talk to Your Patients About: Tetanus - 09/11/2023

The April issue of Texas Medicine highlights tetanus, which causes painful spasms that typically occur in jaw muscles but can wrack the entire body, and can be fatal.