SHOT DOWN

Whooping Cough Cases Spike in Florida as Vaccination Rates Plunge

It comes against a backdrop of partisan division over vaccine approval.

Cases of whooping cough are on the rise in Florida, amid a surge in vaccine hesitancy. Semafor reports that the number of diagnoses in the southern state rose by 81 percent between 2024 and 2025. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that as of Sept. 27, 2025, the Florida Department of Health had diagnosed 1,295 cases, up from 715 cases in all of 2024. It comes against a backdrop of vaccine hesitancy led by President Donald Trump’s administration. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long campaigned on a platform that eschews vaccine confidence and questions their safety. Semafor notes a partisan divide. The downward trend has predominated among Republicans, while Democratic uptake has seen a marginal uptick. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that vaccination rates of kindergarten children have now fallen to their lowest levels in a decade. It has sparked concern that numbers could now be too low to ensure herd immunity. There is further concern that some diseases may become endemic. NBC News reports there have been 1,500 measles cases in the U.S. this year, with three deaths.