State health officials declare West Texas measles outbreak over
With no new cases reported in 42 days, the nation’s largest measles outbreak in 30 years, is declared over. 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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![Patient blood samples seen on May 1, 2025 that are ready for testing at the Texas Department of State Health Services Laboratory.]()
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Vaccine exemption requests in Texas spike in July, as some experts fear more families will opt out
Federal funding cuts to immunization efforts and a new law that allows exemption forms to be downloaded, instead of mailed, could drive up exemptions in the future. Full Story
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![A nurse administers a dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a clinic organized by the Travis County Mobile Vaccine Collaborative at Rodriguez Elementary School on July 28, 2021.]()
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Texas youth camps tell lawmakers they need better coordination, emergency plans during disasters
Two youth camp owners told lawmakers more layered disaster plans would create critical backstops and improve communication with first responders. Full Story
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![Committee Chair Will Metcalf R-Conroe speak with Stephen Baskin, onwer of Camp Champions and Meg Clark, owner of Camp Waldemar during a committee hearing Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
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Texas bills increasing youth camp safety face long odds, even after Hill Country floods
Competing legislative priorities and an industry that has pushed against certain regulations could challenge a suite of camp safety bills this special legislative session. Full Story
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![Texas game wardens search the area across the river from Camp Mystic on July 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Kerr County officials failed to follow certain aspects of disaster plan during Texas floods
The five-year-old plan, required by the state, detailed when additional monitoring was to take place and who was responsible for alerting the public to evacuate. Full Story
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![A woman looks at a pile of debris in Hunt on July 8, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Better testing, less vaccine messaging among lessons learned from historic Texas measles outbreak
Faced with a skeptical religious community that became the center of the outbreak, public health officials say they may have pushed too hard on vaccine messaging. Full Story
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![Signs inform people of measles prevention and testing at the Gaines County Court House in Seminole on Sunday on April 6, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Did fiscal conservatism block plans for a new flood warning system in Kerr County?
In the last nine years, federal funding for a system has been denied to the county as it contends with a tax base hostile to government overspending. Full Story
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![Trees are bent around the pier of a bridge on Louise Hays Park in Kerrville on July 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Weather warnings gave officials a 3 hour, 21 minute window to save lives in Kerr County. What happened then remains unclear.
Federal forecasters issued their first flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4. Local officials haven’t shed light on when they saw the warnings or whether they saw them in time to take action. Full Story
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![Weather monitors at the National Weather Service West Gulf River Forecast Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials say more than 160 people still missing from floods that killed over 100 others
Gov. Greg Abbott vowed Tuesday to continue rescue and recovery efforts in the flood-ravaged Hill Country “until every missing person is accounted for.” Full Story
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![Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt on July 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers failed to pass a bill to improve local disaster warning systems this year
A GOP state lawmaker who represents Kerr County says he likely would vote differently now on House Bill 13, which would have established a grant program for counties to build new emergency communication infrastructure. Full Story
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![An aerial view of damage along the Guadalupe River near Kerrville on July 5, 2025. Heavy rains in the Hill Country on July for caused catastrophic flooding and loss of life.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune