Last year, the number of cases in the last week of May was about 4,800.<\/p>\n
While typically less deadly than other vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, whooping cough can be severe, especially among babies and children who have not received the complete five-dose regimen of the DTaP shot spread over the first six years of their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The DTaP regimen begins with the first shot at two months old, the second at four months and a subsequent shot at six months. When babies are between 15 and 18 months old, they get a fourth shot, and the fifth somewhere between four and six years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whooping cough causes bouts of coughing so extreme that they can lead to vomiting and broken ribs. Roughly a third of babies who are infected need to be treated in a hospital.<\/p>\n
This year so far, five children, four of whom were babies under one, have died, while 10 died all of last year. Children that age have typically received three doses, which, altogether, are about 85 percent effective at preventing disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Doctors nationwide are reporting a flurry of new patients being admitted to hospitals with symptoms of pertussis, which, along with a violent cough, can also cause pneumonia<\/a>, seizures, and brain damage from lack of oxygen.<\/p>\n Whooping cough triggers such severe coughing fits followed by a ‘whooping’ sound in the chest that patients may vomit or even fracture ribs. Nearly one in three infected babies requires hospitalization (stock)<\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n In June, Kentucky officials announced that two babies had died over the previous six months, the first deaths in the state since 2018.<\/p>\n Neither the babies nor their mothers were vaccinated.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in North Carolina, the state reported the first case of the year in June 2025. By the first week of August, there were 13 cases.<\/p>\n \u2018My hospital, we had no cases in 2023, 13 in 2024, and already this year, and we\u2019re only halfway through the year, we\u2019ve had 27,\u2019 Dr David Weber, Director of the UNC Medical Center\u2019s infection prevention department, told NBC News<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In neighboring South Carolina, 183 cases have been reported compared to 147 this time last year.<\/p>\n \u2018We\u2019re certainly seeing our vaccine rates decrease, especially post-Covid,’ said <\/a>Dr Martha Buchanan, a family medicine physician with the South Carolina Department of Health.<\/p>\n ‘Unfortunately, I think it\u2019s going to take us some time to recover from that.’<\/p>\n And in Utah, at least 182 cases<\/a> have been reported so far this year, compared to the five-year average to this point in the year of about 77 cases.<\/p>\n During the 2024-2025 school year, 3.6 percent of kindergarteners were exempted from one or more shots, up from 3.3 percent the year before. Most of the exemptions were among people with certain religious or philosophical views that disagree with vaccination<\/p>\n In Washington County, Utah alone, health officials have reported 28 cases<\/a>, where the yearly average typically hovers around 10 to 15.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019ve seen admissions, an increased amount of kids that are needing to be hospitalized for it,\u2019 Dr Kerri Smith, a pediatrician at St. George Regional Medical Center, said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dr Tim Larsen, a pediatrician at the same medical center who has seen several patients in his outpatient clinic, added: \u2018You get to that two-week, three-week mark, and it\u2019s getting worse, not better.<\/p>\n \u2018There\u2019s at least a way to make the illness more mild when you do get it, and get it treated early. If you suspect whooping cough, bring them into the clinic.\u2019<\/p>\n Experts recommend a booster shot every 10 years for everyone living in or around outbreaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n The past two years\u2019 month-per-month case counts have coincided with steadily declining rates of vaccination among children.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Whooping](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/100917693-14969529-image-a-23_1754336825810.jpg\")
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