Just weeks after two state surgeons general said they will no longer promote vaccinations, state officials announced that two Louisiana children have died of pertussis, or whooping cough—a vaccine-preventable disease—in the past 6 months, CNN reported yesterday.

The news comes as Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, MD, confirmed 110 pertussis cases in Louisiana as of last week, compared with 154 for all of 2024. 

Cases are also rising nationally. Officials confirmed more than 35,000 infections last year, the most in more than a decade, CNN reports. Ten people died, six of them less than 1 year old. And the country has seen about 6,600 cases already in 2025, almost four times the number at this point last year.

Declining vaccination rates

A chief cause is declining US childhood vaccination rates in the past 5 years.

"When you start to see these outbreaks … it tends to be as a result of that increased circulation of the microbe in the community, as well as populations with no immunity or reduced immunity that are susceptible to the infection," said Lisa Morici, PhD, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Tulane University School of Medicine. 

When you cast aspersions or doubt about the safety and efficacy of one vaccine, I think it really has a ripple effect for all vaccines.

Experts are urging pertussis vaccination, and say that confusion over immunization messaging isn't helping. "When you cast aspersions or doubt about the safety and efficacy of one vaccine, I think it really has a ripple effect for all vaccines," said Jennifer Avegno, MD, director of the New Orleans Health Department, referring to the move to no longer promote vaccinations in the state.