Let's Talk About Pertussis Deaths

Cases and deaths from pertussis or whooping cough are once again on the rise.

Apr 15, 2026

Pertussis or whooping cough is a vaccine-preventable disease.

In fact, it has been vaccine preventable since the first whole-cell pertussis vaccines were developed in 1914!

“In late January, physicians at one Louisiana hospital warned their colleagues that two infants had died in the outbreak.
On Feb. 13, the state’s surgeon general, Ralph Abraham, sent a memo to staff ending the general promotion of vaccines and community vaccine events.
He sent that email a few hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, won Senate confirmation as the new secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Also that day, Abraham posted a public memo on the state health department’s website. In it, he said public health has overstepped with vaccine recommendations, driven by “a one-size-fits-all, collectivist mentality.” Abraham has called covid vaccines “dangerous” and been a vocal supporter of Kennedy.
Four days later, in response to a request from WVUE Fox 8 News in New Orleans, the Louisiana Department of Health in an email confirmed the deaths of two infants from whooping cough for the first time. WVUE published the news on Feb. 20.
But Louisiana’s health department sent out no alerts, according to a review of external and internal communications by NPR and KFF Health News.
Over the next month, two more infants were hospitalized for whooping cough, according to internal health department emails obtained through a public records request.
In March, after inquiries from NPR and KFF Health News about the growing number of pertussis cases, the department put out its first social media communications about the outbreak and offered interviews to other journalists.”
Louisiana Took Months To Sound Alarm After Two Babies Died in Whooping Cough Outbreak

Tragically, although pertussis vaccines have had a great impact on pertussis deaths, especially once they became more widely used in the 1940s, children are still dying with pertussis.

Let’s Talk About Pertussis Deaths

How many children?

Pertussis deaths are up 700% in the last four years.

Last year, in 2025, there were at least 16 deaths from pertussis, with most in younger newborns and/or infants under 12 months of age.

That shouldn’t be surprising though, as pertussis cases have been on the rise in recent years.

The reported incidence of pertussis for infants is back to recent highs! The CDC didn’t update their pertussis pages in 2024 so it’s hard to see though… At least they are still publishing their yearly Provisional Pertussis Surveillance Report!

In fact, after a recent low in cases and deaths, pertussis cases are now up over 1250% in the past four years!

And this year?

It is probably too early to say, but it wouldn’t be surprising if cases started to drop.

Remember, pertussis typically runs in 3-5 year cycles, so we are due to for a down year soon.

Or since we have been seeing ever-growing pockets of susceptible children who are unvaccinated, it could be that this cycle still has room to surge a little higher…

Let’s Talk About Pertussis Vaccines

But what about the idea that pertussis vaccines don’t work?

If you got the whooping cough vaccine (and are up-to-date), then know that you are well protected from pertussis and may have saved a baby’s life!

It’s not true!

If that were true, that why is it that it is unvaccinated children and adults are the ones that have the most severe cases of pertussis?

“In the aftermath of Callie’s passing, Katie told us the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) got involved to figure out how the infant contracted the disease that took her life. In the end, it was revealed that she got it from a nurse who was working in the NICU during her 12-day stay. The nurse was found not to be up to date on her Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) booster shot.”
…
“This didn't have to happen. It's preventable,” Katie shared. “People have to realize that they can kill somebody’s child unknowingly when you’re not up to date on your vaccines. You're not getting the shots for yourself, you know? You're doing it for those around you.”
I Don’t Want Anybody Else to Walk That Road — Katie’s Story

And why is it almost always the unvaccinated infants and children that die when they have pertussis?

And why are unvaccinated people more likely to get pertussis?

Bottom line? Don’t skip your Tdap if you are pregnant and don’t skip your child’s DTaP/Tdap vaccines. As we are yet again reminded, vaccine preventable diseases, like pertussis (whooping cough) are indeed life-threatening.

Thanks for reading StopAntiVaxPropaganda Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.

StopAntiVaxPropaganda Substack

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?