United States: The ongoing measles outbreak functions as a warning sign about emerging public health threats because vaccine refusal is spreading, according to a new study published by ProPublica.
The ProPublica report highlights whooping cough rate increases together with decreased vaccination rates as warning signs for childhood disease resurgence.
The vaccine serves to prevent the development of both whooping cough and measles infections.
The study found that 39 American states failed to uphold herd immunity thresholds for measles vaccination in 2023, yet California still maintained sufficient vaccine levels, patch.com reported.
The Pertussis vaccination rate within most states decreased from 2013 through 2023, per ProPublica reporting. California is not among them.
Rising cases in the US
The number of pertussis cases has risen sharply across America to more than 1,500 percent above pandemic records based on data shared by ProPublica from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This Infectious Disease Has Increased 1,500% Nationwide. #Pertussis can be life-threatening in infants and young children, leading to pneumonia, pauses in breathing, dehydration, and even brain damage. #VaccinesWorkhttps://t.co/Ntty7NOZue
— Deborah J. Ross (@DeborahJRoss) April 28, 2025
Pertussis becomes a fatal condition in babies and young children because it causes pneumonia as well as pauses in breathing and dehydration and sometimes results in brain damage.
The yearly mortality rate from whooping cough stands at between two and four cases. Moreover, whooping cough cases from 2024 are projected to surpass previous illness reports, while the disease has claimed ten deaths in 2023 and two confirmed deaths with potential additional fatalities this year.
According to Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious diseases doctor in New York City and author of the book “Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children’s Health, “This is not just measles,” and “It’s a bright-red warning light.”
California reported 1,775 pertussis cases in 2024 out of the 35,435 total nationwide cases based on the CDC’s 2024 provisional pertussis surveillance report, which also showed a 4.55 per 100,000 incidence rate among residents, patch.com reported.
Today, the CDC does not report whooping cough statistics for 2025. A single young infant passed away from whooping cough, while more than 2000 cases were reported to the California Department of Public Health between January and October of 2024.