Tetanus toxoid reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccine adsorbed(GlaxoSmithKline Plc)

MONDAY, Jan. 6, 2025 -- Rates of pertussis in the United States are surging, with more than 32,000 cases reported as of mid-December -- about six times more than at this time last year and more than have been reported since 2014 , according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reported cases have been climbing for several months, CNN reports. About a quarter of all cases have been reported in Illinois, Indiana, and other states in the Midwest. Pennsylvania has more reported cases compared with other states. Some states, such as Oregon, ticked a record high number of cases recently. For 2024, Oregon recorded the highest number of pertussis cases since 1950, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Cases dropped during the pandemic, but, according to the CDC, recent trends suggest that the United States is returning to prepandemic levels. Prevention, in the form of vaccination, is the best way to protect against whooping cough, the CDC says; the agency recommends that children get the DTaP vaccine and adolescents and adults get the Tdap vaccine. Among children, vaccination rates have fallen; only about 92 percent of kindergartners had gotten their DTaP vaccine for the 2023–2024 school year. This is below the 95 percent federal target. More Information Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

FRIDAY, Sept. 20, 2024 -- Whooping cough cases are climbing at the fastest pace in years as students across America return to school, U.S. health officials reported Thursday. In figures published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 291 cases were reported for the week ending Sept. 14. New York logged the most cases of any state, with 44 infections. Oklahoma followed closely behind with 40 cases, while Ohio has reported 39 illnesses and Pennsylvania has reported 38 infections. Not since 2015 have numbers that high been reported for Bordatella pertussis infections , when the United States was coming off a resurgence of whooping cough cases that peaked the year before, the data showed. So far this year, 14,569 cases have been reported, more than four times higher than the number of infections reported by this time last year, the CDC reported. U.S. health officials have warned for months about a resurgence in breakthrough infections in older children and adults, even though unvaccinated young children and newborns of unvaccinated moms remain the most vulnerable to both infection and severe disease, CBS News reported. Why are there so many breakthrough infections? For the past few decades, whooping cough cases have continued to climb because the United States switched to pertussis vaccines that have fewer side effects but aren't as powerful or long-lasting as older shots, CBS News reported. In Pennsylvania, which has witnessed one of the country's largest pertussis outbreaks this year, health officials noted that high school students have fueled that surge in cases. "Historically, pertussis was primarily considered a childhood infection; however, there has been an increasing awareness of cases and hospitalizations occurring in older adults," the Pennsylvania Department of Health said in an health alert . "This is likely due to a multitude of factors, including waning vaccine protection and the lack of timely recognition and testing by adult providers leading to more severe infections, co-infections and hospitalizations in older adults." A similar scenario has unfolded in New York, where 40% of cases outside of New York City have been in teens ages 15 to 19, CBS News reported. In Oklahoma, which has seen one of the biggest jumps in cases of any state in recent weeks, cases have been seen in people as old as 86, the Oklahoma State Department of Health told CBS News. The resurgence arrives as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is weighing speeding up the development of more effective pertussis shots: An FDA advisory panel plans to meet Friday to discuss potential pertussis booster vaccine trials for adults. The CDC already recommends a number of pertussis shots for children and adults, including boosters of the Tdap vaccine -- which contains antigens designed to protect against pertussis -- for all adults every 10 years. While whooping cough cases are clearly on the rise, health officials noted that it is not time to panic. "Despite the resurgence of pertussis, current rates of disease are very low relative to the rates reported during the pre-vaccine era," FDA officials wrote in briefing documents prepared for the advisory panel. Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.