Let's Talk About Pertussis Deaths
The US had had a record number of pertussis deaths last year.
Did you know that the US had a record number of pertussis deaths last year, the most since 2017?
And pertussis cases are rising even higher this year?
Are we on our way back to a really big year, like 2012, when there were nearly 50,000 cases of pertussis and 20 children died, including 16 infants?
Let's Talk About Pertussis Deaths
Did you also know that most of the pertussis deaths are younger infants?
Deaths that be prevented if mothers get a Tdap vaccine during each and every pregnancy. That boost of antibodies gets passed to their baby until they are able to make their own antibodies after completing the DTaP vaccine primary series when they are six months old.
Let's Talk About Pertussis Vaccine Effectiveness
And did you know that despite what anti-vaccine influencers would have you think, the DTaP and Tdap vaccine are very good vaccines?
“Unvaccinated children were >13 times more likely to contract pertussis compared to those who received the age-specific acellular pertussis vaccine dose (95% CI: 7.6–24.7).”
DTap and Tdap Effectiveness in Children — Alaska, May 1–November 30, 2024
In addition to the fact that you are much more likely to get pertussis if you are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, breakthrough cases of pertussis (those that occur when you are fully vaccinated) are typically much milder than a full-blown case you see in someone who is unvaccinated.
So if you are vaccinated and develop pertussis, you might develop a lingering cough, but you aren’t going to break a rib because the cough is so forceful!
If you are vaccinated and develop pertussis, you’re not going to get a black eye (periorbital ecchymosis) because the cough is so forceful.
If you are vaccinated and develop pertussis, you’re not going to die.
Are you on the fence and considering skipping or delaying your child’s DTaP or Tdap vaccine or your own Tdap vaccine?
Take some time to remember what it was like before we had these vaccines. Understand that all the bad things you have heard to scare you are simply anti-vaccine talking points that have been refuted a thousand times.
Get vaccinated and help prevent another surge of pertussis cases this year and another record number of pertussis deaths. Help keep your own kids safe from pertussis.
References
DTap and Tdap Effectiveness in Children — Alaska, May 1–November 30, 2024. https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/AKDHSS/2025/02/12/file_attachments/3162489/3%20-%20Pertussis%20VE%20Bulletin%202.12.25_FINAL.pdf
Skoff TH, Deng L, Bozio CH, Hariri S. US Infant Pertussis Incidence Trends Before and After Implementation of the Maternal Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis Vaccine. JAMA Pediatr. 2023 Apr 1;177(4):395-400. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.5689. PMID: 36745442; PMCID: PMC10071344.