Vaccine hesitancy is up across the country.

So is pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

Utah isn’t exempt from these sobering facts, said Rich Lakin, immunization director at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. In fact, the state has already counted 125 confirmed and probable cases of whooping cough, and that doesn’t yet include figures from September.

“We’ve seen several outbreaks since August and the numbers will probably be higher than what we’ve reported so far,” Lakin said.

The disease, which can cause severe problems in infants and young children, was almost eliminated because of the widespread use of the diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis, or DTaP, vaccines. But recent spikes have concerned public health officials across the nation.

According to an article published in Medpage Today, vaccine hesitancy is different from the broader anti-vaccine movement.

“Anti-vaxxers existed before the COVID-19 pandemic and will likely persist afterward, driven by deep-seated beliefs that often resist scientific evidence,” the article states. “However, the vaccine-hesitant population is a newer and growing group, born out of confusion, mixed messaging, and a general distrust in how public health institutions communicate”

In the case of pertussis, the article states, this hesitancy is having severe, real-world consequences. Babies, who are the most vulnerable to severe cases of whooping cough, reportedly are suffering as a direct result.

Lakin agrees and said misinformation circulating on social media regarding vaccines, and the COVID-19 vaccine in particular, has significantly added to the problem.

“Unfortunately, we’ve got these vaccines that have protected children for years and years and years and we’ve also got misinformation circulating on social media,” he said. “This has probably rolled itself into general vaccines and the feeling that the government isn’t being honest and safe, which simply is not true.”

In Utah, Lakin said 45,911 children are currently enrolled in kindergarten. Of those, 7.2% have filled out vaccine exempt forms, which prevent children from being vaccinated against childhood diseases like whooping cough.

“Of the students enrolled in kindergarten, 88.2% are adequately immunized, 7.2% have exemptions, 2% are enrolled and plan to be vaccinated, 1.7% haven’t seen a doctor yet about vaccines and 0.9% are out of compliance, meaning the schools didn’t report correctly to us,” Lakin said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines pertussis (whooping cough) as a highly contagious respiratory tract infection that is preventable by receiving the vaccine. Symptoms include nasal congestion, sneezing, a runny nose and a cough that sounds like “whoop.”

“Adults can have it, but it might just feel like a common cold,” Lakin said. “But if they go around a newborn baby or someone who can’t be vaccinated yet or at all because of immunocompromised conditions, that person can pass the disease onto them, which can cause really serious illness.”

The vaccine shows up to 90% effectiveness in preventing severe cases, hospitalization and death. It’s advised that children under the age of 7 receive five doses of the DTaP vaccine and a booster by the time they reach the seventh grade. For older children and adults, the Tdap vaccine should be given every 10 years, health officials recommend.

Pregnant women are urged to receive the Tdap vaccine with each pregnancy.

“Say what you want about masks, but they do slow the spread of diseases,” Lakin said. “During 2020 and 2021, everything slowed down, including the spread of influenza, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and other illnesses.”

Lakin said the vaccines are safe and effective and suggests people not only protect themselves, but those around them as well.

“If I’m vaccinated, I could be helping my neighbor who can’t be,” he said. “Getting vaccinated is a great way to help the community and not just yourself.”

Lakin said if you’re traveling soon, it’s best to get the influenza and COVID vaccines now. If not, you can get the influenza vaccine around the later part of October and the COVID vaccine right now or even mid-October. The COVID vaccine now comes in two forms — the mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer and a protein-based vaccine from Novavax.