A sharp and concerning increase in cases of whooping cough has been directly linked to a significant drop in vaccination rates across the United States, a major new investigation has uncovered. The findings highlight a growing public health risk, particularly for vulnerable infants.
Investigation Uncovers Widespread Vaccination Shortfall
An investigation conducted by NBC News in collaboration with Stanford University has revealed a troubling pattern. The probe found that approximately 70 percent of counties and jurisdictions across 31 states are failing to meet the crucial 95 percent vaccination target for whooping cough in children. This target is considered essential for achieving herd immunity and protecting communities.
Delving deeper into the data, the investigation discovered that in states providing figures dating back to 2019, more than 75 percent of counties and jurisdictions have recorded a decline in the uptake of the DTaP vaccine. This vaccine is the primary defence against pertussis (whooping cough), as well as diphtheria and tetanus.
A National Trend of Declining Immunisation
This decline in DTaP coverage is not an isolated issue. It reflects a broader, worrying national trend of falling childhood vaccination rates for a range of preventable diseases. Health experts point to a rise in vaccine scepticism, which gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a key contributing factor.
Official data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) underscores this trend. During the 2024-2025 school year, coverage for the DTaP vaccine, as well as the polio, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), and varicella (chickenpox) vaccines, decreased in more than half of all US states compared to the previous year.
The Severe Threat of Whooping Cough
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It often begins with symptoms resembling a common cold but can escalate into severe, violent coughing fits that can persist for months.
The CDC stresses that babies under one year old are at the greatest risk and can suffer life-threatening complications. Alarmingly, many infected infants do not exhibit the characteristic cough; instead, they may struggle to breathe, turning blue from a lack of oxygen.
While the CDC had tracked 26,632 cases nationally by December 6 this year—a figure lower than the 38,855 recorded in the same period last year—it remains dramatically higher than the 7,063 cases reported in 2023. Localised surges are even more stark, with areas like Austin-Travis County in Texas reporting a 58 percent increase in cases.
The historical context is telling. Before the introduction of a whole-cell whooping cough vaccine in the US in 1914 (later combined with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids in 1948), the disease affected between 70,000 and 265,000 Americans annually in the decades prior to the 1950s.
The CDC maintains that vaccination remains the most effective method of prevention for people of all ages. The current recommendations are for young children to receive the DTaP vaccine, with booster shots advised for adolescents and adults.
