• Posted November 20, 2025

Whooping Cough Surges Nationwide as Vaccinations Fall

Whooping cough is making a major comeback in the United States, with sharp increases now seen in Texas, Florida, California, Oregon and many other places.

Health officials say the latest rise in pertussis cases is being driven by falling vaccination rates, waning immunity and slower public health tracking systems.

What's more, officials say, is that babies remain the most vulnerable.

"Pertussis cases increase in a cyclical fashion driven by waning immunity," Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) immunization program, told CBS News.

"But the size of the outbreak and the potential for severe outcomes in children who cannot be vaccinated can be mitigated by high coverage and good communication to folks at risk," he added.

Before a vaccine was introduced in the early 1900s, whooping cough was one of the leading causes of childhood death in the United States.

Today, routine vaccination starts at 2 months old and continues through adulthood with booster shots. But the pandemic brought a drop in vaccine uptake and nonmedical exemptions in some states have widened immunity gaps.

Texas illustrates how quickly case numbers have grown. The state reported 1,928 cases in 2024. By October 2025, that number had already climbed past 3,500.

National trends are just as shocking. In the first three months of 2025, the United States counted 6,600 pertussis cases, four times last year’s pace and 25 times the pace in 2023.

Outbreaks in places like Louisiana, South Dakota and Idaho show the problem is not limited to just one region of the country.

Texas recently made it easier for parents to claim exemptions by letting them download forms online, and Dallas County Health Director Dr. Phil Huang said he has already seen a drop in families coming in for routine shots.

He also worries that some families, especially in Dallas County’s 40% Hispanic population, may be avoiding vaccinations because of immigration enforcement concerns.

Another issue is that protection from the current “acellular” pertussis vaccine wears off over time, leaving many adults without strong immunity. This makes it easier for adults to unknowingly spread the illness to infants.

Babies face the highest risk: about 1 in 5 infants with pertussis develop pneumonia, and about 1% die from the infection, according to the CDC.

The CDC stresses that pregnant women should get a Tdap vaccine during every pregnancy so their newborns receive antibodies before birth.

More cases are also being found because clinics now use modern PCR testing that checks for several respiratory infections at once, including pertussis. Even so, the number of infant hospitalizations shows that true transmission is increasing.

Doctors usually treat pertussis with macrolide antibiotics, but resistant strains have been rising in other countries such as China and Peru, reports CBS News. Resistant cases remain rare in the United States, although officials caution that international travel could change that.

Health experts say the best strategy now is early detection and vaccination. Clinicians are being urged to consider pertussis whenever a patient has a persistent cough, especially if the patient is an infant or a caregiver of a baby.

Families are also encouraged to make sure children, teens and adults are up to date on their vaccines and to keep sick visitors away from newborns.

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more on whooping cough.

SOURCE: CBS News, Nov. 19, 2025