11/26/2025
Babies are dying of whooping cough across the US... and it is largely preventable.
We’ve had more than 25,000 pertussis cases this year so far. Cases are on track to surpass 2024 (a year that already saw a fivefold jump from the year before). In the first three months of 2025 alone, the U.S. logged 6,600 cases — 4× the same period in 2024 and 25× 2023!
Deaths have occurred in several states: three unvaccinated infants in Kentucky, two infants in Louisiana (we are not sure of vaccination status), and a child under 5 in Washington state who had received some doses but had not completed the DTaP series (and had other contributing health factors).
Between 2000–2017, 84% of U.S. pertussis deaths occurred in babies under 2 months old — the window BEFORE they can get their first DTaP.
IF ONLY WE HAD A WAY TO PREVENT THIS....
We do. And yes — we’re upset. These deaths should not be happening.
When children receive the complete 5-dose DTaP series on schedule, the vaccine protects about 98% of them in the year after the final dose. When pregnant women get Tdap between 27–36 weeks, it prevents ~78% of pertussis cases in newborns and is ~91% effective at preventing hospitalization.
The problem is that people aren’t getting it...
DTaP coverage among kindergarteners has fallen to 92.1%, down from about 95% pre-pandemic. That may look like a small drop — until you understand herd immunity thresholds. And until you start counting dead babies.
Pertussis in infants is brutal. About 1 in 3 is hospitalized. About 1 in 5 develops pneumonia. Some suffer seizures or brain swelling. Around 1% die.
Adults describe coughing until they vomit or break ribs.
Infants? They turn blue. They stop breathing. They die.
Whooping cough was rare for decades after vaccination became widespread — until the 2000s, when waning immunity, natural cycles, and pockets of low coverage (fueled by misinformation) allowed it to roar back.
We had this under control. Fear and misinformation are undoing decades of progress.
Get vaccinated. Get your kids vaccinated. If you’re pregnant, get Tdap between 27–36 weeks.
https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/third-unvaccinated-kentucky-baby-dies-of-whooping-cough/
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/pertussis/cases-rise-nationally-2-infants-die-pertussis-louisiana
https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/news/two-louisiana-infants-die-of-pertussis-amid-drop-in-vaccinations/
