The Lubbock public health director said Wednesday local efforts to fight a measles outbreak will be affected by the federal government’s announcement that it’s pulling $11 billion in COVID-era funding for public health departments.
A brief notice sent to Texas local public health departments late Tuesday by the Texas Department of State Health Services, or DSHS, provided no real specifics.
“DSHS was notified that the federal grant funding for Immunization/COVID, Epidemiology Laboratory Capacity (ELC/COVID), and Health Disparities/COVID, is terminated as of March 24, 2025,” the notice from DSHS Associate Commissioner Imelda Garcia, stated. “The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS or System Agency) is issuing this notice to pause all activities immediately. Please do not accrue any additional costs as of the date of this notice.”
DSHS did not respond to requests for details on exactly how much is unspent COVID-19 era grant money or how many local health departments will be impacted. The grants were issued to help states shore up their public health systems following the pandemic.
But Katherine Wells, Lubbock’s public health director, said it will definitely impact her office’s work combating the spread of measles. Lubbock has been using three grants to help pay for extra temporary staff, a part-time nurse and a full-time epidemiologist to help with vaccinations, answering phones and working with testing of patients. Two of the city’s three grants were not to expire until 2026.
“It’s kind of crazy to have this funding cut,” Wells said. “I don’t have a savings account in public health.”
The recent measles outbreak has further exposed Texas’ threadbare public health system.
The grants, she said, allowed her to hire eight people to help shoulder the workload the outbreak has brought. Since January, Lubbock hospitals have treated many of the more than 300 patients infected with measles, including a 6-year-old who died on Feb 26.
“We’re trying to figure it out,” Wells said. But with state and federal funds cut, city and county health department that counted on those COVID-19 era grants for new programs and outreach will now have to go to local taxpayers to help shore up the abrupt shortfall.