The number of whooping cough cases in the United States is dramatically increasing; infections are four times greater than they were the previous year.
The spike is being caused by teens’ declining immunity and vaccine hesitancy, which has specialists stressing the need of vaccinations and booster shots for disease control.
Pertussis, also commonly known as whooping cough, is on the rise in the United States. At its ten-year high, the CDC reported over 14,500 cases in the year to date in 2024.
This marks a more than fourfold increase from the record low of 3,475 cases in the last year. It is most pronounced among teenagers and young adults, who are experiencing more vaccination aversion and fatigue due to the impending end of the pandemic.
Experts cited waning immunity from DTaP: protection against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. The vaccination initially works, its protection fades, and booster shots are necessary every ten years-starting in junior high school.
But few teenagers receive booster shots-that’s creating outbreaks of a major sort-in places like Wisconsin, where the number of infections has multiplied tenfold over the last year.
Doctors are very concerned with these infants since they are at a higher risk of getting the infection. Whooping cough may lead to complications that require critical care for infants who are still too young to get immunized.
Medical specialists remind families to take booster shots when necessary, and they must be updated with the vaccinations to prevent the spread of the disease.
