The Texas Department of State Health Services has canceled its biennial immunization conference amid uncertainty at the federal level, the agency announced Wednesday.
The Texas Immunization Conference, scheduled for May in Galveston, traditionally includes “substantial” participation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a statement sent by Josh Hutchison, deputy commissioner of the state health services department’s infectious disease prevention division.
“With current uncertainty about the ability of CDC personnel to participate, we made the difficult decision to cancel the conference for now,” Hutchison wrote.
Over the years, DSHS staff have described the conference as a “vital platform" that brings together experts from public and private health sectors to discuss best practices in improving immunization rates. Childhood vaccine rates in North Texas have dropped in recent years, from between 95-96% in 2017 to between 91-93% in 2023.
Before the cancellation, 185 people had registered for the conference, most of whom were DSHS employees, DSHS spokesperson Chris Van Deusen wrote in an email to KERA.
The conference was originally scheduled for June 2024, but was postponed because of its proximity to the CDC’s National Immunization Conference.
The state health services department Wednesday morning initially attributed the cancellation to a pause on non-emergency-related communication and public appearances. However, a second news release attributed to Hutchison said that email had “some significant errors in it,” and that the agency and employees are “not under any kind of communication pause.”
Van Deusen told KERA an employee sent out an unapproved draft email.
The language in the first email resembled the same from a Jan. 21 gag order sent by acting U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dorothy Fink to leaders at agencies including the CDC. Much of the public communication from federal health agencies was still on pause in early February, according to NBC News.
This month the DSHS reported a measles outbreak in West Texas. Twenty-four cases have been reported in Gaines County, nine of which have resulted in hospitalization. All of the cases are among unvaccinated patients, the majority of whom are children.
Got a tip? Email Kailey Broussard at kbroussard@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
Copyright 2025 KERA