The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District as the public health agency serving the City of San Antonio and Bexar County has confirmed two cases of monkeypox.  Both individuals are currently isolating, following all recommended guidance, and all close contacts have been notified. As of yesterday, Texas has 42 cases of monkeypox reported.

By Jolie McCullough, The Texas Tribune As the omicron variant of COVID-19 quickly spreads across the United States, public health experts fear that Texas’ health care system could once again be overwhelmed by the disease within weeks. “It’s really accelerating fast,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, a virologist at Baylor College of Medicine. “I think we’re going to be in the middle of it by Christmas.”

It's back to school time again, and children of all ages are required to receive minimum immunizations in order to be eligible to attend school in Texas. Why are minimum vaccinations required? And what makes these and other vaccines important? NOWCastSA sat down with Dr. Dennis Conrad for a conversation on immunizations to find out.

Everyone six months old and older should get vaccinated. People age 65 and older, pregnant women, young children and those with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease or kidney and liver disorders are more susceptible to serious influenza complications, so flu vaccine is especially important for them. The latest available data from the Metro Health flu surveillance network showed that mostly flu A is circulating in our community.