TxDSHS Press Release

DSHS Adds Lysosomal Diseases Testing to State’s Newborn Screening Panel

September 4, 2025 - Texas Department of State Health Services added four lysosomal disease tests to its newborn screening panel in August, pushing the number of conditions every baby born in Texas is screened for to 59. Each baby is screened twice, meaning around 800,000 specimens are tested annually in the Texas Newborn Screening Laboratory to help find infants who may have one or more of the medical conditions.

Hearing loss and critical congenital heart disease are additional point of service tests, typically conducted by the birthing facility.

World TB Day Observed at Texas Center for Infectious Disease

March 24, 2023 - Texas Center for Infectious Disease commemorates World Tuberculosis Day today with a conference featuring presentations from staff and partners plus tours of the TCID campus in San Antonio.

World TB Day marks the day in 1882 when the bacteria that causes tuberculosis was discovered. The illness continues to impact populations around the world and in Texas. While TB cases in 2020 and 2021 stayed just below 1,000 in the state, provisional data show cases increased here to 1,088 in 2022.

State Health Officials Warn of Dangerous Drug Combination

March 21, 2023 - The Texas Department of State Health Services has issued a health advisory notifying health care providers of reports that an animal tranquilizer called xylazine has been found mixed with illegal drugs distributed in Texas. Law enforcement has identified xylazine in the illegal fentanyl supply in West Texas, and it has been combined with other opioids, benzodiazepines like Xanax, and recreational drugs, leading to at least four reported xylazine-related deaths.

DSHS and Texas A&M Health Announce Texas Vaccine Outreach, Education Program Grants

December 29, 2021 - The Texas Department of State Health Services, in partnership with the Texas A&M University Health Science Center, has awarded more than $8.6 million to local organizations across the state through the Texas Vaccine Outreach and Education Grant Program. The program’s objective is to fund COVID-19 outreach and education activities aimed at increasing the number of fully vaccinated people in Texas.

Texas Identifies Case of COVID-19 Omicron Variant

December 7, 2021 - The first known Texas case of the COVID-19 B.1.1.529 variant has been identified in a resident of Harris County. The adult female resident was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Results of genetic sequencing this week showed that the infection was caused by the Omicron variant strain. The case is being investigated by Harris County Public Health and the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Texas to Receive More Than 1.3 Million Doses of Pfizer’s Pediatric Vaccine

November 3, 2021 - The Texas Department of State Health Services has instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ship Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to over 900 providers in 155 Texas counties over the next week. The CDC will deliver 1,010,700 doses of the vaccine to Texas vaccine providers and 349,200 doses will be delivered to pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program to vaccinate children between the ages of 5 and 11.

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