Oregon is expected to surpass its record of 910 pertussis (commonly known as whooping cough) cases by the end of the year, prompting health officials to sharpen their warnings about the disease’s serious risks—especially for young babies—and their emphasis on the importance of vaccination. As of November 13, Oregon has seen a total of 827 cases of whooping cough, according to Oregon Health Authority (OHA) data. At least one person, an older adult, has died. To put the case count in perspective, in 2012, 910 whooping cough cases were reported, the highest annual count since 1953.
“I’m worried, given the time of year, because people are attending indoor holiday gatherings, and those gatherings often include newborns who are too young to be vaccinated,” said Paul Cieslak, M.D., medical director for communicable diseases and immunizations at OHA’s Public Health Division.
Lane County has the highest number of pertussis cases this year with 249. The other high case count counties are Multnomah (180), Clackamas (109), Washington (67) and Deschutes (59). The median age of cases is 11, with the range between five weeks and 89 years.
Babies too young to be fully vaccinated suffer the most from pertussis, with the highest reported incidence rate and highest likelihood of hospitalization and death. This is because babies don’t start building protection against infection until they are vaccinated at two months old. With the exception of 2024, Oregon pertussis deaths have been limited to infants; five have occurred since 2003.
Vaccination against pertussis is routinely recommended for infants, children, adolescents and adults. The combination vaccine, Tdap, protects against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. Children should receive the vaccine at two, four, six and 15-18 months, and again at age four-kindergarten age. All persons 10 and older, including those 65 and older, who have not had the single-dose Tdap vaccine should get it now.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic—when restrictions that included masking requirements and school closures were in effect—annual case tallies routinely reached triple digits, but dropped to three in 2021. But this year’s to-date 827 cases, which represents a nearly 2,500 percent increase from the 32 cases reported by the same period in 2023, has surprised state and local public health officials.
Jennifer Gibbons, N.D., a naturopathic physician in Portland, says 80 percent of her family medicine practice is pediatrics, and she can cite many examples of a pertussis infection’s devastating effects on children. “I’ve had multiple families say, ‘If I had known how bad this was going to be, I would have vaccinated.’ I use that to tell other families,” Gibbons says. She also reminds families that “kids tolerate this vaccine very well. I find it to be a really useful, safe and effective vaccine.”