VANCOUVER, Wash. (KATU) — New data shows whooping cough cases are surging in both Oregon and Washington.
Oregon has had 947 cases so far this year, which is nearly triple last year’s case count in the same time period. However, weekly cases have been on a steady decline since early May.
Clark County, Washington has recorded 231 cases of Pertusis – also known as whooping cough – since the start of the year.
For comparison, the county saw just 14 cases from January to June back in 2023. That number jumped to 576 cases all through 2024.
Dr. Alan L. Melnick, Clark Co. Public Health Director, said many people don’t even realize they’re contagious.
“You’ll think that you just have a cold, and you won’t know that you have whooping cough,”Dr. Melnick said. “Of course, if you’re fully vaccinated, you’ll have less to worry about that. But you won’t know that you have it, and you’ll go around your daily lives and expose other people.”
Data shows cases are mostly among young children, and unvaccinated people.
Data shows vaccine rates among children in Washington state have dropped 73 percent since 2019.
