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Credit: CDC website<\/p>\nPertussis or whooping cough cases in Lubbock remain high according to Katherine Wells, public health director for Lubbock \u2013 part of a trend that hit its peak in 2024.<\/p>\n
It is, she said, \u201ca fairly miserable disease to get.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re coughing so much that you either vomit or can\u2019t breathe,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
Credit: CDC website<\/p>\n
\u201cPertussis is the technical disease name and then \u2018whooping cough\u2019 is what people refer to it because of this characteristic whooping sound that happens after a coughing fit,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
Sixteen percent of local cases from April to October resulted in hospitalization, according to numbers provided by the health department to LubbockLights.com. More than half of those cases were children between birth and 9 years old.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdults tend to do well. The real concern are our little ones. The younger the baby, the more severe the disease, the more likely of them being hospitalized,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
The Centers for Disease Control said in a June press release, \u201cWhile reported cases of whooping cough have been trending down since a peak in November 2024, cases remain elevated in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the CDC\u2019s Provisional Pertussis Surveillance Report, in 2023 there were roughly 2,950 reported U.S. cases. In 2024, it rose sharply to 18,780 reported cases.<\/p>\n
Lubbock has been consistent with the national trend, Wells said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPertussis activity began increasing in November 2024, with the highest reported cases in December 2024,\u201d Wells said of the local cases.<\/p>\n
There were 13 cases in December. And her department asks local doctors to keep an eye out, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNumbers have remained consistent but elevated. We urge providers to consider testing for pertussis as we move into peak respiratory season,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
Pertussis in Lubbock<\/p>\n
Total cases:<\/p>\n
2025<\/p>\n
|<\/p>\n
41 (through Sept.)<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s health department said 60 percent of recent cases were people with a history of at least one dose of pertussis vaccine. The other 40 percent were either unvaccinated or unknown status. The pertussis vaccine wears off over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it also contains the tetanus vaccine, we recommend everybody get that vaccine at least every 10 years,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
Women are advised to get one with every pregnancy along with family members who will be in contact with a newborn baby.<\/p>\n
The Pan American Health Organization reported in late March, the U.S. suffered five pertussis deaths so far in 2025. LubbockLights.com was unable to find more recent numbers for pertussis fatalities.<\/p>\n
News media articles indicated deaths this year in Louisiana, Idaho and Washington State.<\/p>\n
Locally, there has not been a death in recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot while I\u2019ve been in the health department. So, at least 10 years,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause this is a bacteria, we can prescribe medication. So, if a family member has pertussis, we can give the family preventative treatment or the physician can give preventative treatment to keep it from spreading in a household,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
Vaccines<\/p>\n
The flu shot is not the same as a pertussis vaccine. One reduces the risk from a virus \u2013 the other a bacteria.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, I think we\u2019re seeing decreases in the willingness of individuals to get vaccinated. During the measles outbreak, we saw an increase because people were seeing measles cases, but they came and only got the vaccine for measles. I think we\u2019re seeing all vaccination rates, really starting to decrease in Lubbock and also in the United States,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
![\"Whooping](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pertussis_gfx_cdc_600x600.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\t\tIllustration of Pertussis or whooping cough from CDC Facebook page <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s multifaceted. I wish there was like one simple solution for it,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
People don\u2019t trust government. But people also don\u2019t trust pharmaceutical companies, Wells said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s information out there that your doctors and pharmaceutical companies are making lots of money off of vaccines,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s usually not the case, Wells said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVaccine is actually something you tend to lose money on,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of focus on parental rights. And I think when we have vaccine mandates, even though there\u2019s science behind it, I think people see that as a mandate. And they don\u2019t want to follow it,\u201d Wells said.<\/p>\n
Vaccines make some dreaded diseases rare. But once they become rare, people wonder why they need the vaccine for something that rarely see, she said.<\/p>\n
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