Tracking whooping cough cases<\/a> can be difficult because not all cases are reported, Page said.<\/p>\nBut so far this year, 100 cases of whooping cough — also known as pertussis — have been reported to Public Health. This number is expected to increase as the weather cools and more people begin gathering inside, Page said.<\/p>\n
Seventy of those cases were reported in the last 90 days (as of July 11), and of those cases, 49 of them (70%) have been in South King County.<\/p>\n
Additionally, 43 of the total cases were in children 18 and younger, with most of these cases stemming from the Federal Way, Kent and Auburn areas, according to Public Health. <\/p>\n
Three infants, and one child under 5, and one adult over 65 have been hospitalized with whooping cough so far this year, Libby said.<\/p>\n
This is all compared to the 31 total cases last year, 15 cases in 2022, and six in 2021.<\/p>\n
WHY THE RISE?<\/strong><\/p>\nWhile cases are on the rise, the CDC says this is more of a return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic normal.<\/p>\n
But that doesn’t mean there are variables that have helped the spread of the disease on.<\/p>\n
One is that whooping cough, like many other diseases, have an epidemiological cycle — roughly every five years, there’s a “blip” in the number of cases, Page said.<\/p>\n
For example, King County’s last spike was in 2015, with a total of 252 cases; prior to that, 895 cases in 2012.<\/p>\n
Why we skipped a possible rise in cases in 2019 could have been two side effects of the aforementioned pandemic.<\/p>\n
First is the masking, hand washing, and social distancing.<\/p>\n
“We were all taking protective measures that prevented the spread of a lot of respiratory illnesses,” Page said.<\/p>\n
But there was also a disruption of vaccine delivery and access.<\/p>\n
“So we’re seeing that there are a number of people who are not up to date on their TDAP vaccine, which is reductive against whooping cough,” Page continued.<\/p>\n
And finally, cases are on the rise in South King County specifically because these areas have less access to health care.<\/p>\n
“Historically, a lot of community members face access barriers to health case: they may not have insurance; they may not have a primary care provider; transportation challenges,” Page said. “As a result to all those barriers… those reasons of the county are under-immunized, especially children.”<\/p>\n
ABOUT WHOOPING COUGH<\/strong><\/p>\nWhooping cough can start off like a common cold, Page said, which oftentimes means people don’t go to a primary care provider or urgent care facility to be tested.<\/p>\n
These symptoms can last up to two weeks.<\/p>\n
More serious symptoms can appear after about a week or two after the initial symptoms start, and include uncontrollable coughing fits (especially at night) that oftentimes sound like a high-pitched “whooping” sound.<\/p>\n
Whooping cough is highly contagious and can spread in the air via coughs and sneezes; someone infected can pass on the disease as soon as symptoms appear, and up to three weeks after the coughing begins.<\/p>\n
As such, wearing a mask and washing hands are ways to prevent the spread of the disease.<\/p>\n
However, unlike COVID-19 and its other strains, whooping cough is a bacterial infection, not a virus. If prescribed antibiotics by a doctor, a patient will become noncontagious after five days of treatment.<\/p>\n
VACCINE UPDATES<\/strong><\/p>\nThis will probably sound familiar: while Page recommends everyone gets their whooping cough vaccine, she specifically stressed infants, seniors, the immunocompromised, and mothers.<\/p>\n
There are two vaccines, split among the age groups.<\/p>\n
For those 18 and older, there’s the TDAP vaccine, which not only vaccinates against whooping cough, but tetanus and diphtheria as well.<\/p>\n
Public Health recommends adults 19 and older get a Tdap vaccine now – especially if they have close contact with infants – and update it every ten years.<\/p>\n
Then there’s the DTaP vaccine; the difference between this vaccine and the adult version is that the DTaP are full vaccine doses, whereas the Tdap vaccine has a full dose of tetanus but smaller doses of the diphtheria and whooping cough vaccine.<\/p>\n
It’s recommended infants and toddlers get five TDaP vaccines – their first dos when they are two months old, and the last before kindergarten.<\/p>\n
Finally, Page urged women to get a TDaP vaccine every time they get pregnant, as their immunity is often transferred to their child.<\/p>\n
According to Page, the mothers of the three infants that were hospitalized did not have their TDaP vaccine. The vaccine status of the other individuals that were hospitalized is unknown.<\/p>\n
“That really… illustrates how giving the parent immunity and passing that on to the infant who’s too young to be vaccinated is such a critical component of our vaccine recommendations,” Page said.<\/p>\n
WHERE TO GET VACCINES<\/strong><\/p>\nThere are numerous places where people can get their whooping cough vaccine, like at your local pharmacy or a primary care provider.<\/p>\n
However, if you don’t have insurance, things can be much trickier, as there are limited clinics in South King County that provide vaccines for the uninsured.<\/p>\n
This includes:<\/p>\n
• The Sea Mar Community Health Center, 233 2nd Ave. S., Kent: 206-436-6380.<\/p>\n
• Sea Mar Des Moines Medical, 2781 S. 242nd St., Des Moines: 206-212-4500.<\/p>\n
However, several clinics listed as a place where uninsured adults can receive a vaccine do not list which kind of vaccines they offer.<\/p>\n
To find a local clinic that provides uninsured adults or children with vaccines, visit Public Health’s website at kingcounty.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\nThese clinics are funded via the state’s Adult Vaccine Program, and the vaccines may come with an administration cost, so while walk-ins may be accepted, you may want to call ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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