Whooping cough cases in Florida have soared this year, marking an 81% increase from 2024’s number.
As of Sept. 27, 2025, there have been 1,295 cases reported to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), compared to 715 cases for the entirety of 2024, according to the department’s Reportable Diseases Frequency Report.
It’s a tricky case…
Like you say, this a) predates the Trump admin and b) so far TDAP is still required to be in school even in Florida even after the upcoming set of dropped vaccine mandates, so even this disease isn’t the result nor wouldn’t be the result of even Florida’s aggressively lax vaccinne policies.
On the other hand, this shows how far out of hand things can get even without the government dropping mandates and actively restricting vaccinnes and stoking more vaccine hesitancy.
You are right that it wouldn’t fix things by itself, but it certainly greatly exacerbates the severity having the people in power aligned with vaccine hesitancy.
Youre right, they are a factor. I just dont like seeing people fool themselves into thinking that getting rid of them alone will solve the issues. The antivax movement is long in the tooth and need some serious addressing. People are still talking about vaccines and autism, even though that connection has been proven multiple times to be bullshit.
All Im really getting at is there isnt going to be a simple solution to this. Its not going to be as easy as getting rid of the orange man and worm, and all is right in the world.