State Board of Education Member Ruben Cortez sent a letter to state health officials Monday, urging them to add COVID-19 to the list of required school immunizations.
In a letter to Department of State Health Services Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt and Executive Commissioner of Health and Human Services Cecile Erwin Young, Cortez pointed out the department’s authority under state law to modify the list of immunizations required in order to attend public schools in Texas.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved by the FDA for ages 16 and up, with approval expected for younger age groups in the coming months. Cortez urges the commissioners to act immediately to add COVID-19 to the list of required immunizations for all ages covered by FDA approval.
The full text of the letter is as follows:
August 30, 2021
Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD
Texas Department of State Health Services
1100 W. 49th St.
Austin, TX 78756
Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young
Health and Human Services Commission
4601 W. Guadalupe St.
Austin, TX 78751
CC: Commissioner Mike Morath
Texas Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Ave.
Austin, Texas 78701
Dear Commissioners,
As the number of Texans hospitalized with COVID-19 surpasses the previous peak from January 2020, it is impossible to deny that we are a state in crisis. Our hospitals are beyond capacity and our brave health care workers are at a breaking point. This time, our children are at the greatest risk.
Hospitals across the state are out of pediatric intensive care beds as more children each day become critically ill. This past week, Houston reported its first death of a child with no preexisting conditions. As I write this, millions of children are returning to classrooms where Gov. Abbott has banned the very mitigation strategies that have proven most effective at keeping them safe.
It is clear that the governor has abandoned his duties.
For decades, Texas schools have required immunizations against diphtheria, rubella, mumps, and tetanus, as well as other diseases. Texas law under Sec. 38.001, Texas Education Code, authorizes the Department of State Health Services to “require immunizations against additional diseases as a requirement for admission to any elementary or secondary school.” This authority does not require the governor’s approval.
Sec. 531.003, Texas Government Code, states that the goal of the Health and Human Services Commission is to “promote the health of the people of this state by reducing the incidence of disease and disabling conditions.” Since the governor has forsaken this responsibility, it is incumbent on you to take immediate action to protect our children and school employees. Now that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has received full FDA approval and more are on the way, I urge you to add COVID-19 to the list of required school immunizations, effective immediately.
Our children are more important than politics. I stand ready to assist you in any way possible.
Sincerely,
Ruben Cortez, Jr.
State Board of Education, District 2
