Whooping Cough News and Research

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Whooping Cough is a serious bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes that spreads easily. Whooping cough begins like a cold, but develops into severe coughing and gasping for air. Long spells of coughing may cause vomiting, and broken blood vessels in the eyes and on the skin. Also called pertussis.

Sewage monitoring may provide earlier warning of pertussis outbreaks

Pertussis, or whooping cough, continues to cause periodic outbreaks worldwide and can be especially dangerous for infants who have not completed vaccination.

26 Aug 2026

Pregnant women use Reddit to seek Tdap vaccine reassurance

An analysis of Reddit posts about the maternal Tdap vaccine made by pregnant women reveals expectant mothers turning to Reddit to seek advice and reassurance-with fewer outright instances of vaccine hesitation/refusal than has generally been observed for other types of vaccines, according to a study published on August 12, 2026 in the open access journal PLOS Global Public Health by Soojung Jo from Purdue University, United States, and colleagues.

12 Aug 2026

New website tracks vaccine preventable diseases across the United States

A new website will track the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases across the United States to offer the public, the media, healthcare providers, public health officials, and policymakers reliable and visual information about current disease trends.

5 Aug 2026

Research reveals how a hidden immune cell army defends human lung tissue

New research led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and University of Liverpool (UOL) provides the first comprehensive look at how a hidden immune cell army defends the vast, vulnerable tissue of the human lungs.

28 Jul 2026

ddPCR and NGS for viral surveillance in antiviral drug development

hVIVO explains how ddPCR and NGS support viral surveillance in antiviral trials, from detection and quantification to resistance sequencing.

From hVIVO 20 Jul 2026

Extensive data analysis confirms the safety of aluminum adjuvanted vaccines

Current evidence does not support direct (causal) associations between aluminium adjuvanted vaccines and serious or long-term health outcomes, including autism, diabetes, and asthma, finds a review of the latest data published by The BMJ today.

7 May 2026

Why Japan saw a major pertussis surge in 2025 while other countries peaked earlier

This study found that pertussis cases fell across Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and the USA during COVID-19 restrictions, then resurged afterward, with most countries peaking in 2024 but Japan showing a delayed major outbreak in 2025. In Japan, the surge was concentrated in school-aged children and adolescents, highlighting possible gaps in booster protection and the need to reassess immunization strategies.

20 Apr 2026

Survey: Public awareness of alcohol-related cancer risk remains unchanged

Public awareness of the link between drinking alcohol and elevated cancer risk remains unchanged since February 2025, with over half of Americans saying that regularly consuming alcohol increases your chances of later developing cancer, according to a new survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

19 Mar 2026

This doctor-senator who backed RFK Jr. now faces a fight for his job — and his legacy

The ambitious liver doctor would go just about anywhere in his home state to give people the hepatitis B vaccine.

6 Mar 2026

US measles and pertussis outbreaks expose policy failures, not just vaccine hesitancy

A recent commentary argues that US measles and pertussis outbreaks are not simply the result of vaccine hesitancy but reflect weakened immunization policies, permissive exemptions, and underfunded public health systems. The authors contend that policy environments determine whether pockets of low coverage escalate into large-scale, preventable outbreaks.

24 Feb 2026

COVID and flu vaccination rates during pregnancy remain low in Norway

A study of over 50,000 pregnant women in Norway during the 2023/24 influenza season found that only 29.9% were vaccinated against influenza and 12.1% against COVID-19 during pregnancy, remaining far below recommended targets.

19 Feb 2026

Safety perceptions of major vaccines show significant drop over the past three years

In a winter marked by flu outbreaks, the persistence of Covid-19, and surges of measles cases across the United States, an Annenberg survey finds that a sizable majority of Americans think the three vaccines that combat these potentially deadly illnesses are safe to take, although perceptions of the safety of all three vaccines showed a statistically significant drop over the past three years.

10 Feb 2026

Survey shows growing public familiarity with RSV vaccines and antibody injections

Amid a surprisingly severe flu season and a Covid-19 resurgence, those highly contagious respiratory illnesses are drawing the largest share of media coverage and public attention.

21 Jan 2026

Vaccines are helping older people more than we knew

Let's be clear: The primary reason to be vaccinated against shingles is that two shots provide at least 90% protection against a painful, blistering disease that a third of Americans will suffer in their lifetimes, one that can cause lingering nerve pain and other nasty long-term consequences.

14 Jan 2026

Long-term study reveals shifting patterns in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

Most COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is rooted in concerns that can be addressed and effectively reduced over time, according to a new study following more than 1.1 million people in England between January 2021 and March 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, published in The Lancet.

13 Jan 2026

Maternal whooping cough vaccine shields newborns' immune system

In 2024, Germany recorded the highest number of whooping cough cases since reporting became mandatory in the year 2013.

9 Jan 2026

Maternal pertussis vaccination delivers early immune protection to newborns

Vaccinating women during pregnancy leads to the transfer of antibodies to their newborns. These antibodies were detected not only in blood, but also in the nasal mucosa, the site where whooping cough bacteria enter the body.

7 Jan 2026

Many Americans misunderstand shared decision making in childhood vaccination policies

On Jan. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dramatically reduced the number of recommended childhood vaccinations from 17 to 11, citing practices in other wealthy nations, including Denmark, Germany, and Japan.

6 Jan 2026

The CDC just sidelined these childhood vaccines. Here’s what they prevent.

The federal government has drastically scaled back the number of recommended childhood immunizations, sidelining six routine vaccines that have safeguarded millions from serious diseases, long-term disability, and death.

6 Jan 2026

Inside the FDA’s vaccine uproar

Six days after a senior FDA official sent a sweeping internal email claiming that covid vaccines had caused the deaths of "at least 10 children," 12 former FDA commissioners released an extraordinary warning in the Dec. 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

19 Dec 2025