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
Born in ‘67, got my MMR and shingles vaccines on Friday.
Same…got it last month!
Got my MMR and TDaP the other week, would get my shingles if they’d let me. These were boosters for me, but I’ll say that they were really chill, I just felt tired for the weekend and took two naps, but otherwise fine. YMMV of course but please get them if you can, side effects aren’t bad for most people.
I’m French and I checked with my doctor recently because I knew that I had missed some boosters lately (not MMR, I’m up to date on that one) and she said it’s alright as long as I make the necessary to catch up. I have a crazy fear of needles though so I might faint when getting the boosters but I need to do it.
I see my doc in another month & have a note to self to ask her what she recommends. I’ve had the two shingles shots in the last four years, so I think I’m good there. Had measles as a kid (no vax available at that time), but had the MMR shot for grad school about 20 years ago. Not sure whether I need a booster or not, so I’ll be asking about that. Also not sure where I am on whooping cough, so will be asking about that, too. I distinctly remember a variety of vaccinations as a kid & teenager–both kinds of polio, for example–but other than flu & pneumonia, and now RSV & COVID, I’m a little hazy on what I need as an adult.
I had a whooping cough vaccine in 2019 so I could visit my newborn grandson even though I had the vaccine when I was a child. Guess I will be going and getting it updated.
Good idea. Whooping cough vaccine should be given every ten years anyway and
Thank you I did not know this!
And you can get tetanus/diptheria shot all together. (I get tetanus updated every 10 years since I run cattle.)
As a 70s kid in Ireland, I remember jumping rope rhymes about not being able to play with someone because they were dirty and you didn’t want to catch whooping cough.
We really need to be doing some shaming. I want movies with big stars where kids die from not being vaccinated.
Just watched a ‘Madame Secretary’ episode where a kid who didn’t get the measles vaccine suffers dire consequences, whereas Daisy’s daughter, who had only one round of the vaccine got very sick but survived w/o long term consequence.
Having immersed myself in West Wing and Madame Secretary for the last month, I’m shocked and dismayed at how poorly the ongoing issues talked about on TV are now front and center as news, not stories. Yet another reason not to travel to the Untied States.
This should be good for the economy. Everyone should start investing in casket and urn companies now.
(sorrowful sarcasm)
Doesn’t ivanka have a line of coffins?
Almost snorted out my coffee!
I don’t know, but Costco sells a coffin that looks like a CyberTruck! Wonder if Elon gets a kickback from sales…
Here’s a link:
https://slickdeals.net/f/17942094-cybercasket-hypercasket-through-costco-next-program-7999-99
All of this because some people think their personal rights matter more than not possibly killing others. Ugh.
PLEASE WEAR A MASK, 😷 PEOPLE!
And thanks to mass firings by the DOGE goons, the arm of the CDC that tracks disease outbreaks has been decimated. Soon we won’t be able to know which diseases are surging.
This entire administration deserves to be jailed for purposely breaking the country
The year I received my whooping cough vaccine, it was no good and lots of kids my age caught it. I almost died. I was taken away in an ambulance, lips blue, and spent a few days in the hospital. I jumped at the chance to get vaccinated again when I was pregnant.
I remember back in 2012…when I was working for a large hospital system in Chicago and Whooping Cough was going through the population like wild 🔥 to the point where the State of Illinois had to kick off a targeted AND VERY effective public service commercial which showcased a Grandmother playing and kissing her Grandchildren and a voice over generally saying…”Make sure your love dosen’t hurt your Grandchildren…get your Whooping Cough vaccination”…
And…here we are…😱😪
I had whooping cough 2 years ago and nearly died. It lasts for 10 weeks and there is simply nothing they can do. I broke 4 ribs coughing. I ruptured my esophagus. My vision would go black and I would lose control of my bodily functions. It is incredibly painful, and it feels like there is no end. And again, there’s simply nothing that can be done. I do not see how a smaller body would survive I was vaccinated but didn’t know at the time that boosters are required.
More reasons to continue boycotting the US and Americans in general.
Sorry but cases are also increasing in Europe and Asia.
I had whooping cough as a child. I can’t remember how old I was, but I was very young. I remember the hacking cough and how much it hurt, but much else.
I’m curious, is whooping cough one of the diseases you can get more than once? If it isn’t, I’m calling my doctor in the morning. That article mentions the Detroit area and Chicago, which are the two cities I split my time in.
I’m so sorry, @Lurker!
My Grandma, who was born in the early 20th century, said the worst sound she has ever heard was a child with whooping cough. She was very pro-vaccine because she remembered what it was like before most of them existed and it was bad. My dad almost died of polio when he was a freshman in HS. I’m so grateful to my family members for sharing these histories with me–most Americans seem to have absolutely no historical memory– we don’t need to experience it, we could, you know, learn from the past!
OMG. Poor you. I had a case of Whooping Cough 5 years ago. Thankfully I didn’t beak ribs or ruptured my esophagus like it happened to you. I never experienced coughing like that before. I told my husband if you find a lung in the hallway don’t get rid of it, it is mine. I couldn’t catch my breath. I thought I’m going to suffocate and coughed to the point where I was vomiting. It made me lose my bodily function and I had to wear adult diapers. It lasted for several weeks, and my upper body felt like somebody beat me with a baseball bat. Every muscle hurt really bad when coughing. Until people experience that themselves, they just shrug it off when you warn them. They just think you exaggerate and it’s just like a bad bronchitis. Bronchitis has nothing on Whooping Cough. I hope I never have to experience that again.
I had whooping cough as a child back in the late 50s or early 60s. I really don’t have much memory of most things back then because I was so young but I remember waking up in the middle of the night and couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to die and still have really clear memories of it about 65 years later. These people who would wish that on their child don’t deserve to have them.
RFK, Jr’s wacky conspiracy theories and his promotions of them will kill thousands, if not millions. In addition to being a nutjob this man studied LAW, not MEDICINE. He has no real knowledge, just fantasies and suppositions and WE get to pay the price because an idiot nominated him and more idiots confirmed him.
I hate this timeline.
It’s basically going to be my every Cormack McCarthy novel nightmare come-to-life that I expected.
I was vaccinated as a child, but had Whooping Cough in 2008 as a 40 something. It was as sick as I have ever been. I thought I would die from that cough, I could hardly breath. I was vaccinated again after I recovered. I hope to NEVER have that again. I cannot imagine not vaccinating a child against it.
We know a family whose newborn son died shortly after contracting whooping cough from someone while in the hospital. For the love of g*d these idiots need to wake up and vaccinate their children, for the sake of these babies they profess to care so much about. 😡
I’ve never had whooping cough but a few years ago picked up something that had me coughing for weeks so the point where I tore the intercostal muscles between my ribs (and spent my birthday evening waiting to see an out of hours GP as I was in so much pain). It was the most miserable couple of months of my life to date.
We can’t just blame the govt. I blame the parents and the govt and the medical community.
In some places nurses and others still can’t administer shots.
You have health dept that haven’t budgeted for vaccines and rely on charities.
And I place most blame on parents. I live in the Michigan area. I just found out on Friday that we are having a measles, mumps, and respiratory illness epidemic. The numbers are much higher than being reported. I don’t have children and only found out because I struck up a conversation at a bread store!
I live in an apartment complex with loads of kids. The sick kids are still running around. The sick adults are still using the picnic tables. They refuse to give up their social life. I actually thought mumps went away because EVERYONE is out. Cheap cough supplies have been on shortage for the last month. Watch out. They will cough on you.
Hey, do you remember where you read about those illnesses surging? I spend half of the time in the Detroit area, taking care of my mother, who is in memory care and even though I’ve had whooping cough and mumps, I probably need a measles booster etc. Illnesses like those tear through nursing homes.
Decrease the population with deportation and the re-emergence of formerly stamped-out disease.Genius move, Kennedy. You are a disgrace to your entire family, past and present. Scourge of American healthcare.
I am recovering from a bout of bronchitis, with horrible coughing where I had trouble catching my breath, so I cannot imagine whooping cough. One good thing is that I live alone in a motorhome and visit with most people outside, but I have a very weak immune system due to past treatment with a chronic form of adult leukemia. I spent several days a couple of weeks ago with my son, DIL, and three teenagers, riding in their truck, hanging out in their camper, and going to two plays. I am certain all that closeness is what got me sick, so next time I am going to wear a mask.
With several decades of low communicable disease rates, other than COVID, a lot of us, including me, have gotten complacent, so we need to keep up with vaccinations and be aware of crowds. I need a 2nd 2024-45 COVID vaccine ASAP, but otherwise am up-to-date. Does not help with viral pneumonia or bronchitis, so need to get better at wearing a mask, especially for people like me.
WARNING: Any treatment for cancer, even if it is the newer targeted drugs delivered as pills, and even being in remission for many years, can result is a lifelong damaged immune system!
I’ve shared this before: my youngest had a nasty reaction to this vaccine and landed in the hospital. We had to wait over a year to try (successfully!) to vaccinate our baby and at the time whooping cough was going around. Financially, this had an impact on us, because we felt our kid was in danger if in day care, and we got a lot more careful about where we went. You also can’t just get all the vaccines you miss all at once–they need to be spaced out. And the first two were given in a pediatric hospital ward with a pediatric neurologist and allergist on hand.
My FIL has a blood cancer and has been through a lot. Last year, he caught pneumonia and wound up in the hospital and unfortunately, he caught whooping cough there. It’s been well over a year since he’s been cured, but he still has parts of that da&@ cough. It is nasty!!
Once you get whooping cough, you need to “go through it.” You cannot eat your way out of it, take ivermectin or bleach or whatever the antivaxxers claim. They can give you an antibiotic so you do not infect others, but you yourself will notice next to nothing of an improvement from it. Whooping cough steals your oxygen.
I’m currently pregnant and I will be getting a whooping cough and RSV vaccine during pregnancy to protect the baby from birth. I am really angry at those anti-vax idiots. They put the most vulnerable people at risk.