The U.S. has recorded over 32,000 whooping cough cases this year, compared with around 5,100 as of mid-December last year. Infants are most vulnerable to the bacterial infection.
Source: Whooping cough cases reach highest level in a decade
I had whooping cough as a 10-year-old back in the late 1950s. I almost died every time I started coughing. Please vaccinate.
Hm… I don’t know if we have this vaccine available here. I’ll check. Thanks.
I just checked. We have the vaccine here (obviously), but although we had a small outbreak in 2023, there are hardly any cases here these days. I did just get a pneumonia vaccine, though.
Good for you on the pneumonia vaccine. That’s another disease we older folk are at higher risk for. The whopping cough vaccine is the P (for pertussis) that’s often given here in the U.S. as part of one Tdap shot that protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. The CDC recommends, for adults, a booster every 10 years. I will NEVER forget my childhood experience of being unable to breathe; I had to just writhe around on my bed until I found a position (usually with my head hanging over the edge, looking up at the ceiling) that allowed me to draw breath. I got my Tdap booster 2 or 3 years ago. When I asked my doctor if that childhood bout of whooping cough had given me immunity, he emphasized that I should get the booster.