Infectious diseases experts say many Americans fell behind on their whooping cough vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which they say has compounded the recent uptick in cases.

14,569 cases of whooping cough have been reported in total for 2024 so far — four times higher than the agency's reported totals from this time last year. Whooping cough can last for weeks to months, with symptoms normally appearing about a week after first being exposed to a contagious person with the infection.

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,

The U.S. is experiencing more than four times as many whooping cough cases compared with last year — a spike that some experts attribute to post-pandemic vaccine fatigue.

So far this year, two-thirds of Wisconsin counties have reported at least one case of the respiratory infection. Children and teenagers between 11 and 18 account for nearly half o