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FALFURRIAS — After 8 a.m. on a fall Friday, a 31-foot white van drove down pockmarked streets, passed a public housing complex and pulled into the Falfurrias High School parking lot. Masked medical staff unloaded coolers filled with vaccines, then unpacked gloves and bandages. Others set out a hot pink sign bearing a handwritten message: “Free Flu Shots!”

On June 26, Texas was reporting 5,102 people had been hospitalized due to the coronavirus, breaking a new record for the state. The positivity rate — the portion of tests that come back positive — had hovered above Gov. Greg Abbott’s “warning flag” level of 10% for more than a week.

Don’t Mess With Texas is launching a contest as big as the Lone Star State to find its new anti-litter theme song. The Don’t mess with Texas “Lone Star Song Search” invites Texans to compose an original song to compete for prizes provided by iHeart Media, Guitar Center and the School of Rock. Two winners will be selected in two different categories with each winning valuable prizes.