Whooping cough cases skyrocket in Michigan, as vaccinations decline

• Cases of whooping cough are at their highest in at least 20 years in Michigan
• The disease can be deadly to infants
• Alarmed by the increase, doctors are pleading for families to vaccinate their children 

Cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, have jumped 14-fold since 2023, alarming state health officials.

As of Dec. 8, there were 1,578 confirmed cases of pertussis in Michigan, compared to 110 for the full year of 2023.

Related: In Michigan, cases of whooping cough — pertussis — continue to climb

Cases dropped dramatically during the pandemic, possibly because the use of facemasks and social distancing limited the spread of the airborne illness.

But this year’s figures are still 2.5 times the yearly average of 596 pertussis cases recorded in the three years before COVID, 2017 through 2019.

The total with three weeks still to go in 2024 is the highest since 2010, when there were 1,581 cases.

Pertussis often starts with mild cold-like symptoms but progresses to severe coughing fits that can last for weeks or months. It can be deadly, particularly to infants. Over half of infants who contract pertussis require hospitalization.

(You can hear the distinctive cough here.)

Outbreaks are most common in schools, childcare centers and hospitals.

One reason for the spike is increased resistance to childhood vaccinations.

Vaccination coverage for pertussis is down 3% since January 2020, with 73% of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving the recommended four doses of Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) vaccine as of October 2024.

School waivers for the vaccine that protects against whooping cough have nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic in 2020, growing from 3.2% of Michigan kindergarten students with a waiver in 2020 to 6.2% in 2023.

Over half of the cases (826) occurred in school-aged children 5 to 17 years old, and 66% of cases involved individuals who were either unvaccinated or their most recent vaccine was 5 years ago or more, according to the Michigan Disease Surveillance System.

“As Michigan faces a record number of pertussis cases, it’s more important than ever for parents, caregivers and communities to prioritize vaccination,” Ryan Malosh, director of the Division of Immunization with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, told a news conference this week. “Whooping cough is a serious, preventable disease that can have devastating effects, especially on babies who are too young to be fully vaccinated.”

Pertussis can take five to 10 days for symptoms to appear after exposure. Babies and young children may not cough, but they may have pauses in their breathing, which can make their skin look bluish or cause shortness of breath.

The CDC recommends the pertussis vaccine for infants, children, adolescents and people who are pregnant. It also recommends a dose for adults who haven’t received a dose as adolescents or adults.