Queensland is in the grip of a whooping cough crisis, with the number of infections surging to alarming levels in 2025. Health authorities and medical experts are pointing to a dangerous drop in immunisation rates since the COVID-19 pandemic as a key driver behind the outbreak, which has already claimed at least one child’s life.

According to new data from Queensland Health, the state has recorded 2,384 whooping cough cases in just the first few months of the year—more than three times the average number recorded annually between 2020 and 2024. The 2024 figures were even more staggering: 15,012 confirmed cases, surpassing the combined total of the previous 11 years.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can cause severe illness in people of all ages but poses the greatest risk to infants and young children. In severe cases, it can lead to pneumonia, brain damage, and death.

Professor Paul Griffin, director of infectious diseases at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital, expressed deep concern over the current trajectory.

“It is important people appreciate that the numbers are very high and higher than we’d normally see,” he said. “Then if we add to that, a reduction in vaccination rates, that’s certainly going to be a factor.”

Immunisation data confirms the trend. In 2018, 94.4% of Queensland one-year-olds had been vaccinated against whooping cough. By 2024, that figure had slipped to 90.8%. Vaccination uptake among pregnant women has also declined, dropping from 77% in 2020 to just 70% in 2023.

Professor Griffin warned that those who are unvaccinated are significantly more vulnerable. “We know it’s far worse in people who aren’t vaccinated,” he stressed.

University of South Australia epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman noted that whooping cough outbreaks typically cycle every three to five years. He believes the current epidemic, which had been anticipated around 2020–2022, was temporarily suppressed by the pandemic and is now resurging with a vengeance.

“This outbreak has likely been delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, but it’s here now—and it’s serious,” he said.

Acting Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr. Catherine McDougall underscored the importance of protecting the youngest and most vulnerable through routine and maternal vaccination. “Vaccines save lives,” she said. “We know that vaccinating pregnant women reduces the risk of their babies contracting whooping cough by 75%.”

She added that while the weekly number of new cases has decreased slightly—from a peak to around 50–80 new infections per week—it’s clear that the disease is still actively circulating within communities.

“Which is why it’s critical that people get vaccinated to protect themselves and their loved ones,” she said.

The National Immunisation Program currently offers free whooping cough vaccinations at two, four, six, and 18 months of age, as well as for adolescents aged 12 to 19. Pregnant women are also eligible for a free dose, and booster shots are recommended every ten years for adults.

Medical professionals are urging both the public and policymakers to prioritise awareness campaigns and improve access to vaccines to curb further spread.

“Public health messaging around immunisation needs to be reinvigorated,” Professor Esterman said. “We need to make it easier for people to get vaccinated—and remind them why it’s so vital.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic heightened global attention to vaccines, it also disrupted routine immunisation schedules for many families. With the return to pre-pandemic travel and interaction levels, diseases like whooping cough are finding fertile ground to spread among the under-protected.

In the words of Professor Griffin: “We have a tool that works. It’s time we use it more effectively.”

As Queensland health authorities grapple with the largest whooping cough outbreak in more than a decade, experts agree on one thing: the key to stopping it lies in raising vaccination rates—before more lives are lost.