Tag Archives: Texas Department of State Health Services

No camp for you

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck this summer, parents. After almost 20 years of bouncing from campground to campground, Orr Family Ministries finally found its home in 2022 on a 12-acre tree-filled campground located on a hill in Colorado County. Kids played in the swimming pool, … Continue reading →

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Smokable hemp is off and then on the shelves again

Posted on May 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Pending the current appeal. Smokeable hemp products, such as flower buds and rolled joints, are allowed back on shelves until the state’s appeal of a statewide ban on the sale of the drug is heard in court next Thursday. The … Continue reading →

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Smokable hemp ban remains blocked

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The reprieve has been extended. Texas hemp businesses can keep selling cannabis flower and concentrates for now after a Travis County judge blocked key parts of the state’s new hemp regulations while a lawsuit plays out. Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle … Continue reading →

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Camp Mystic will not reopen this summer

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Probably for the best. Camp Mystic on Thursday said it has withdrawn its application for an operating license, a decision that means it will not reopen to campers this summer. The decision follows a grueling hearing earlier this week when Texas lawmakers … Continue reading →

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Smokable hemp ban paused

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

For now. A Travis County district judge has temporarily lifted a statewide ban on the sale of natural smokeable hemp products, such as flower buds and rolled joints, until at least April 23. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the Texas … Continue reading →

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DPS and Rangers investigating Camp Mystic

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Tuesday that the Texas Rangers have launched a criminal investigation into Camp Mystic, where 25 campers and two counselors were killed during a catastrophic flash flood on July 4. And the Texas Department of … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over ban on smokable hemp

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected. Texas hemp industry leaders and advocacy groups have sued the state to block new regulations that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees. The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and … Continue reading →

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No more smokable hemp

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

You can still smoke what you already have, though. Smokable hemp products are effectively illegal in Texas starting today as new rules on cannabis compounds take effect. The rules, adopted by the Department of State Health Services, mark the most sweeping change … Continue reading →

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Camp Mystic parents sue Texas over the lack of evacuation plans at the camp

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Texas health officials failed to follow state law when they licensed Camp Mystic without making sure it had an evacuation plan, parents of nine children and counselors who died in the July 4 flood allege in a new … Continue reading →

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In which I learn something about whooping cough

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I started here, yet another story about how whooping cough is on the rise in Texas. Bexar County is seeing a dramatic rise in cases of whooping cough this year alongside potentially record-breaking increases statewide. So far in 2025, San … Continue reading →

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Camp rule changes coming

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. In their latest effort to boost camp oversight in the wake of the deadly July 4 floods, Texas officials have proposed hiking annual licensing fees for operators by thousands of dollars and slashing the number of … Continue reading →

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Whooping cough hits a new high

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, anti-vaxxers! Couldn’t have done this without you. More than 3,500 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, cases have been reported in Texas so far this year, already reaching a 11-year high even though two more highly infectious months are … Continue reading →

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The state of mosquito research

Posted on October 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Really interesting stuff. Under a microscope, a mosquito can look stunning. Their blue-green iridescent scales, purple bands, and attractive spotted wings shimmer—dazzling enough to forget, for a moment, the insect lives to take a sip of your blood. Mosquitoes range … Continue reading →

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The THC age limit is in effect

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Time to show your ID, I guess. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Tuesday approved an emergency rule to ban liquor license holders from selling THC products to anyone under the age of 21, the agency’s first step toward fulfilling … Continue reading →

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Some reactions to the THC executive order

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is not impressed. By issuing an executive order banning THC products for minors, Gov. Greg Abbott ensured nobody would be fully satisfied. When crafting legislation, that’s often a good thing. Compromise, by definition, means both sides don’t get everything they … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans THC for those under 21

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Why didn’t we just do this first? THC products will remain largely legal in Texas, but will be banned for minors and current regulations further enforced under a new executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott on Wednesday directed the … Continue reading →

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How Trump made the measles outbreak worse

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Everything Trump touches dies. As measles surged in Texas early this year, the Trump administration’s actions sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists that kept them from performing the agency’s most critical function — emergency response — when it mattered … Continue reading →

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West Texas measles outbreak declared to be over

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The West Texas measles outbreak, the nation’s largest in 30 years, is now over, state health officials announced on Monday. The Texas Department of State Health Services announced the outbreak was over after no new cases had been … Continue reading →

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A win for cottage foods

Posted on August 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nice to know that at least one good thing came out of the regular session. Bee Boyd slid on a baking mitt, fittingly decorated with bees, before pulling open the oven door. They took a quick glance at the puffy, … Continue reading →

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Some lessons learned from the measles outbreak

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. As the number of Texas measles cases tied to a West Texas outbreak slows to a trickle, South Plains public health director Zach Holbrooks remembers the call from a colleague in an adjacent county six months ago that … Continue reading →

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There will be more measles outbreaks

Posted on July 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This one may be coming to an end, but the underlying conditions for it aren’t going away. Texas appears to be past the worst of its largest measles outbreak in 30 years, but the state will be vulnerable to future outbreaks … Continue reading →

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Measles update: There’s good news and there’s bad news

Posted on July 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The good news. Texas health officials on Tuesday said the county at the center of the state’s measles outbreak is no longer classified as an outbreak county. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported no new cases of measles … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Yes, there are still new cases being reported

Posted on July 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still a thing. The Texas Department of State Health Services says three new measles cases have been detected in the last week in connection to an outbreak in West Texas. The state has been tracking case numbers since the … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Maybe I should call this the “RFK Rampage update”

Posted on June 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday eight new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory committee, some of whom have been critics of shots — especially during the … Continue reading →

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The THC ban and the Houston retail market

Posted on June 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The bright lights of Bahama Mama’s flagship store along Lower Westheimer turned on a year ago, welcoming passersby into a hemp shop unlike anything else in Houston. A red carpet rolled into a mirrored showroom stocked with nearly every … Continue reading →

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Measles update: There’s nowhere to go but down

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a depressing headline. Amid a widespread decline in childhood measles vaccination rates since before the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, a study published Monday found that coverage can vary substantially within a state. Looking at county-level data in 33 states, researchers at … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Never forget who RFK Jr is

Posted on May 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a liar. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says his “Make America Healthy Again” Commission report harnesses “gold-standard” science, citing more than 500 studies and other sources to back up its claims. Those citations, though, are rife with errors, from broken links to misstated … Continue reading →

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Measles update: El Paso the exception

Posted on May 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Weird. As soon as measles started spreading in West Texas, El Paso health officials began preparing schools and day care facilities for the day the virus would inevitably arrive. But now that it’s here, it’s not kids who are making … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Maybe we really are slowing to an end

Posted on May 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t get much slower than that. Texas health officials reported only one new case of measles on Friday, the smallest increase since the outbreak began four months ago. The latest update from the Texas Department of State Health Services shows … Continue reading →

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Measles update: The wastewater still has something to tell us

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. An outbreak detection program found the presence of the measles virus in samples of Houston wastewater in early January 2025, before cases were reported, new findings show. The findings were possible because almost three years earlier, a team … Continue reading →

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Measles update: It would help if the people with measles stopped traveling while sick

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what else to say. An El Paso resident’s two-day visit to Austin has prompted a warning from city public health officials, after the person was confirmed to have measles. The person was in Austin from April 25 … Continue reading →

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Measles update: Who needs research?

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m very sorry to say that we once again have to talk about RFK Jr and his continued quest to make us all sick and stupid. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s motto is “ Make America Healthy Again,” … Continue reading →

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Measles update: We can’t escape the main character

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

No matter how much we might want to. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a visit to Texas on Tuesday that measles deserves less attention than other chronic diseases, while downplaying the number of deaths that have … Continue reading →

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Measles update: The liars keep gaining

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard out there for the facts. While the most serious measles epidemic in a decade has led to the deaths of two children and spread to 27 states with no signs of letting up, beliefs about the safety of … Continue reading →

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