What to know about Washington's whooping cough outbreak
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Washington state is experiencing a significant rise in pertussis cases, particularly among infants, highlighting a public health concern that has risen as childhood vaccinations in King County have dropped.
By the numbers: As of September, the state had 816 reported cases of whooping cough, compared to just 43 cases in the first nine months of last year, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
- Clark County reported the highest number of cases in the state with 295, followed by King County with 114, according to state data.
- Of the 94 infants diagnosed this year in Washington, 80 were eligible to receive at least one dose of the pertussis vaccine.
- However, only 15% of those infants had been vaccinated, per DOH.
Zoom in: Only 92% of incoming kindergartners in King County last year were vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella — about 3 percentage points below what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates is necessary to ensure herd immunity, public health officials say.
The big picture: There have been at least 15,661 cases in the U.S. this year as of Sept. 21, per the CDC.
Threat level: Infants are particularly at risk for complications, which can include pneumonia, seizures, and in severe cases, even death, according to the CDC.
State of play: Public health officials say vaccinations are the best way to combat the outbreak, but lingering vaccine hesitancy from the pandemic has left more parents opting out of shots using non-medical religious exemptions.
- Public health officials also are concerned that circulating strains of pertussis are adapting to evade vaccines, and that immunity in previously vaccinated individuals is rapidly waning, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim reports.
What we're watching: Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration met last month to discuss new, more durable vaccines, including nasal vaccines that could boost immunity through mucous membranes.