vaccinations

Texas children need vaccinations against measles, pertussis, hepatitis, and other diseases to attend school. But Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Health and a Professor of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center, tells KERA’s Sam Baker why he is concerned about this school year.

Just over 1% of kids under 5 in Dallas County have gotten a COVID-19 vaccine, and public health officials are expecting cases to rise as kids head back to school.

There are more than 700 reported cases of the virus in Texas with dozens more “presumptive cases.” Local officials said more vaccines should be headed to the state following a declaration by the White House that the virus is now a public health emergency.

KERA’s Sam Baker talked about the virus with Dr. Trish Perl, a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in general infectious diseases.

Kids ages 6 months to 4 years became eligible for the vaccine last month. Experts say a number of factors could be hampering parents from getting their kids vaccinated.

Dallas County received a shipment of more than 5,000 monkeypox vaccines to help treat the virus outbreak.

The Biden administration may scrap plans to expand eligibility for second boosters to younger adults. Instead, it's trying to speed up the next generation of boosters targeting the omicron variant.

New cases of COVID-19 in Texas are increasing again. But predicting how long this wave of infections will continue — and how severe it could be — will not be easy this time around.

For some parents of kids under 5 who want to vaccinate them, the wait has been excruciating, fraught with delays and close calls. Others are hesitant to have their young children vaccinated.

Doctors from Children’s Health in Dallas and the Dallas County Health and Human Services department recommend kids between 6 months and 5 years old receive the COVID-19 vaccine, following the Centers for Disease Control’s endorsement this weekend.

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

The CDC has given final approval to COVID vaccines for children younger than 5. The agency's backing followed an earlier FDA recommendation of the Pfizer and Moderna versions. Dr. Philip Huang, Health Director for Dallas County Health and Human Services, talked with KERA’s Sam Baker about how vaccinating kids so young will impact local efforts to control COVID.