Texas physicians group is undermining federal COVID vaccine recommendations, Paxton says
Texas Medical Association has nudged physicians to consider COVID vaccine recommendations from other medical groups. 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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![Johan Arzade, 12, looks at his COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card after receiving a dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a clinic organized by the Travis County Mobile Vaccine Collaborative at Rodriguez Elementary School in Austin on July 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Tech’s limits on gender identity discussion deepen fears of politics breaching academic freedom
Professors are afraid to publicly speak out, system leaders left key questions unanswered and advocates worry for LGBTQ+ students’ mental health. Full Story
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![View of the Administration building on the Texas Tech University campus on July 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune -
Texas launches downloadable form to exempt kids from school-required vaccines
Previously, parents had to wait for the state to mail them the exemption form. They still have to get the form notarized before submitting it to the school for enrollment purposes. Full Story
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![Mateo Cardona, 4, receives a vaccine in Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston on June 28, 2022.]()
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Kerr County youth camps appeal to Dan Patrick on proposed floodplain restrictions
Camp Waldemar, Vista Camps and Camp Stewart ask the lieutenant governor for an expert to determine where cabins are located, want financial aid if pending camp safety bills pass. Full Story
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![Stuffed animals sit in a windowsill at Camp Mystic after a deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, on July 5, 2025.]()
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Bill making ivermectin an over-the-counter drug signed by Gov. Greg Abbott
Some people use the drug to treat COVID, even though it’s not approved by the FDA for such use. Full Story
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![A box of Ivermectine drug in a pharmacy in Paris, France on April 16, 2021.]()
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Texas House advances bill to levy stricter penalties on camps following the Hill Country flood
HB 256 would prevent camps from correcting violations on the spot to avoid state penalties and reduce the number of camps serving on a state panel to a maximum of two. Full Story
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![Campists' belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic, Hunt, on July 7, 2025.]()
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Bill allowing private citizens to sue over abortion pills clears Texas governor’s desk
House Bill 7 allows people to sue manufacturers and distributors of the drug. Full Story
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![A bottle and pills of Misoprostol, made by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, sit in a counting tray at a pharmacy on June 19, 2019, in Provo, Utah.]()
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“My daughter was stolen from me": Grieving parents point to Texas camp failures at Capitol hearing
Senate Bill 1, which would require more oversight of emergency plans and evacuation procedures at summer camps, was advanced after the emotional hearing Wednesday. Full Story
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![Cici Williams Steward, mother of Cile Steward, who died in the Camp Mystic flood, gets up after testifying during a panel of Camp Mystic parents testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding on August 20, 2025. Cile is the only child whose body has still not been recovered.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
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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![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.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune