The number of whooping cough cases have more than quadrupled in the U.S. since last year, according to data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.
Infectious diseases experts attribute the surge in cases of whooping cough — also known as pertussis — to a dip in vaccination rates that began during the pandemic.
“Children during COVID did not see their health care providers and they may have done some telemedicine, but we can’t vaccinate through the computer,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “And we haven’t gotten everyone caught up yet back to their routine vaccination levels.”