HOUSTON, TX (KCBD) – Dr. Katherine Wells, DrPH, MPH, director of the Lubbock Health Department, was recognized in Houston Thursday for her leadership in handling last year’s West Texas measles outbreak.
Wells was applauded for coordinating the region’s response to what officials called an unprecedented outbreak.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but last year, the disease spread across Texas, resulting in 762 cases, with more than half occurring in Gaines County.
“Unfortunately, that measles crisis, outbreak, was only the beginning of what we’re seeing in the US now with huge outbreaks in other communities, and over the last two weeks we’ve lost four individuals in the state of Pennsylvania due to a vaccine-preventable disease,” Wells said.
Award presented at state meeting
Wells received the Ralph D. Fiegen Award for Excellence during the annual state meeting of the Texas Immunization Partnership.
The award honors leaders who champion education and protect communities from vaccine-preventable diseases.
The Immunization Partnership presented Katherine Wells with the Ralph D. Feigin Award for Excellence for her work during last year’s measles outbreak in West Texas.(Provided by City of Lubbock)
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.