The first annual Firearm Injury Prevention and Safety Symposium, hosted by the Center for Health and Biosciences in June 2022, brought together researchers, policymakers and community partners committed to ending gun violence. This conference report summarizes the many presentations held at the event, as well as a concrete plan for local action to reduce firearm injury and death.
Sandra McKay, Jacqueline Klotz, Mia Hurts, Bindi Naik-MathuriaOctober 31, 2022
How durable is the Saudi-Russian relationship, and what are its implications for the longstanding energy-for-security arrangement between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.?
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Mark Finley, Jim KraneOctober 18, 2022
Texas has long been an economic leader, but the state lags critically in a major area: health. A new report by M.D. candidate Kushal T. Kadakia and nonresident scholar Anaeze C. Offodile II offers a road map for improving Texas’ health rankings by 10 spots in 10 years.
Kushal T. Kadakia, Anaeze C. Offodile IIOctober 17, 2022
Expert Heidi Russell analyzes the economic impacts of relaxing vaccination requirements for children and finds that as immunization rates decline, the costs of an outbreak increase.
A comparison of the prices at three major Houston hospitals — Houston Methodist, St. Luke’s Health and Memorial Hermann — associated with Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare PPO health plans finds wide-ranging costs for services.
Anti-vaccine advocates have been deploying a new tactic: pushing for unvaccinated individuals to become a protected group under constitutional and statutory law. Expert Valerie Gutmann Koch explores why this could threaten public health.
From urban revitalization in Houston’s Third Ward to displacement due to climate change in East Africa, students are engaging with a broad range of policy topics at the Baker Institute this fall through internships and the Baker Institute Student Forum.
Vaccination policies are a cornerstone of public health, but anti-vaccine activists have been adamantly pushing for legislation that would weaken and dismantle the public health infrastructure, the authors write. In this issue brief, they examine vaccine policy challenges leading up to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the future of vaccine legislation in Texas and the United States.
The authors identify key themes that emerged from anti-vaccine testimonies during the 2021 Texas legislative session and consider the implications of these discussions as the next legislative session draws near.
