© Robert Killips | Lansing State Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC
(Atlanta, GA) – Health officials say cases of whooping cough are on the rise around the Tri-state area. In fact, the CDC says whooping cough cases have surged to their highest levels since 2014, nationwide. And the highest number of cases are in New York City, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and on the West Coast. To date, 16,000 cases have been confirmed — as well as two deaths.
Experts attribute the rise to a couple different factors. For one, case numbers fell during COVID because of face masking, which may have reduced transmission of some respiratory illnesses like whooping cough. Also, vaccination rates have dropped — something officials first observed during the pandemic — perhaps in response to concerns over the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The greatest risk regarding whooping cough lies with babies under one year of age. The most severe outcomes result among infants, including the potential for apnea and pneumonia.
