Dozens of free measles vaccine clinics close in Texas as federal funding is cut [View all]

Source: NBC News

April 1, 2025, 5:33 PM EDT


Steep federal funding cuts have forced public health officials in one of Texas’ most populous counties — Dallas — to cancel dozens of vaccination clinics and lay off 21 workers on the front lines of combatting the state’s growing measles outbreak.

“I just had to tell our commissioners this morning that we’ve had to cancel over 50 different clinics in our community,” said Dr. Philip Huang, director and health authority for the Dallas County Health and Human Services Department. Many of the clinics had been planned for schools in areas with low vaccination rates, he said.

The vaccines, which included measles, mumps and rubella shots, were meant to be given free to families.

The money being cut — $11.4 billion nationwide — was originally allocated to aid community health departments during the pandemic. Local public health officials have more recently been using the Covid funds for other public health initiatives, such as measles prevention, surveillance and testing.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/texas-measles-outbreak-dallas-vaccines-hhs-funding-cuts-rcna199144