By W. Stephen Love, President/CEO, DFW Hospital Council

The hot topic on the radio and television is Zika fever. It’s coming! Zika is here! The virus with the unique name is a mosquito-borne disease potentially causing harm to pregnant women. On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency regarding this spreading virus.

Through mother-to-child transmission, there is a possible link between Zika and microcephaly in newborn children causing babies to be born with undeveloped brains. WHO is concerned because there are no vaccines and limited tests for prevention and early diagnosis.

According to the United Health Foundation, Texas ranks 48 out of 50 states in the percentage of children receiving proper immunizations. Only West Virginia ranked lower, though Texas was thankfully tied with Wyoming at 48. Wyoming?!

While there is no vaccine for Zika, we do have immunizations for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTaP); measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); Haemophilus influenza (Hib); hepatitis B, varicella and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV); and polio. Unfortunately, Texas pales in comparison to other states with children’s immunization track records.

Why does Texas perform so poorly in immunizations? For one, Texas leads the nation in the number of uninsured children. While our state has participated in the Federal Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) since 1994, many children are not receiving the complete series of immunizations required to protect them from preventable disease. The return on investment is real as every dollar spent on DTaP vaccines saves $27.00 in costs, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

We hope Zika can be contained quickly with a minimum number of victims. While we cannot immediately solve the Zika crisis, we can certainly strive to immunize our children. A fully immunized society is the only way to reach optimum eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases. Let’s do our part to make Texas safe for children. They depend on us to make the right healthcare choices.