Whooping cough cases in the US could reach pre-vaccine levels soon

For those of you who are keeping track, the US has been dealing with measles and dysentery outbreaks. This is on top of a doozy of a flu season that saw cases of the flu, covid, norovirus, and RSV skyrocket to form a “quademic.” Oh, and tuberculous is making a worldwide comeback, too. Yay. Well, here’s another one to add to the list: whooping cough. As of the end of April, cases of whooping cough, caused by the pertussis bacteria, have more than doubled. There are so many cases that if we keep it up, we’re actually in danger of hitting pre-vaccine levels. This is some scary sh-t.

Why whooping cough is making a comeback: Whooping cough has been increasing since the early 2000s, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, with about 10,000 reported cases each year. The spread slowed during the pandemic lockdown, as many infectious illnesses did, but cases are rising once again. In Michigan, … whooping cough cases have skyrocketed. There were 110 cases in the state in 2023, according to the state’s department of health. In 2024, 2,081 cases were reported — a nearly 1,800% increase. The state’s on track to meet or exceed last year’s number. In 2025, 497 whooping cough cases have been reported in Michigan.

So far this year, there have been 8,064 reported cases of whooping cough in the U.S., compared with 3,835 for the same time in 2024, according to the CDC. And there were more than four times as many whooping cough cases in the U.S. in 2024 compared with 2023.

Vaccine hesitancy: According to the medical journal BMJ, if the current trend continues, the U.S. may be on course for the highest number of infections since vaccination was introduced in 1948. Vaccine hesitancy in general is playing a major role in the increase. “We have clear indication that our vaccine rates are falling,” Singh of Texas Children’s said. “Look at the West Texas measles outbreak.” Almost 600 cases of measles have been reported since late January in West Texas. A 2024 CDC report found that the percentage of U.S. kindergartners during the previous school year who had been vaccinated against both measles and whooping cough dipped to less than 93%. In 2019, the national coverage rate was 95%.

What’s more, the pertussis vaccine doesn’t work as well as it used to. In the 1990s, manufacturers altered the way the vaccine was made to reduce its side effects, like fevers and vomiting. As a result, the shot’s effectiveness isn’t as robust. Boosters are needed every 10 years.

Mutations: And research published by the CDC in 2019 suggested that the bacteria behind the disease had mutated. In 2024, the Food and Drug Administration met to discuss the need for more robust and longer-lasting versions of the whooping cough vaccine.

No real treatment: [C]ough drops and over-the-counter cough suppressants don’t work. Antibiotics, such as azithromycin or Z-Pak, are given, but they don’t cure the cough. They’re meant to protect others. “By the time you’ve got the symptom of the cough, which is what prompts the diagnosis to be made, the cascade of immune response that causes that spasmodic coughing is underway, and there is no treatment for that,” she said. “We use antibiotics to clear the bacteria from the nasal passages so that you don’t spread it.”

Prevention starts with vaccination: The CDC says that babies should begin their first round of pertussis vaccines at 2 months, with follow-up shots at 4 and 6 months. Another shot is given before the child reaches age 2, and again around the start of kindergarten. Because the vaccine wanes, it’s recommended that preteens, around 11 or 12 years, get a booster. It’s middle and high schoolers whose immunity has waned that’s driving outbreaks, O’Shea said. She sees cases year-round in this age group. While the vaccine isn’t 100% effective — no vaccine is — symptoms are generally less severe in vaccinated people, according to the American Lung Association. .

[From NBC News, headers added]

Sigh. I know we are all screaming into the void here about getting vaccinated. I did not know that you needed a booster at around 11/12-years-old, so I will absolutely be asking my older son’s pediatrician for a booster at his yearly physical. (They’re on top of these things, thankfully!) Vaccines are not just to protect your own health but also to protect the immuno-compromised around you. Respiratory illnesses are no joke. I am grateful that no one in my family has suffered from whooping cough, but my nephew got RSV when he was a toddler and several years later, he still needs his nebulizer.

It’s so scary that all of these diseases are making a comeback, and that it’s all by choice/actions. I truly do not understand how there are people out there that would rather their kids suffer from something like a cough that can get so bad that it cracks their ribs than get a vaccine that would prevent it. The social media propaganda is strong. I don’t know when we lost the plot. Maybe seeing others suffer will alarm a lot of people to do the right thing. I just hate that we’ve regressed to this place where all of these diseases are making a comeback in the first place.

Photos credit: Bermix Studio on Unsplash, CDC on Pexels and via Instagram