As Louisiana faces a high COVID-19 rate and increasing whooping cough cases, the latest federal guidelines are creating confusion around who can get vaccines and where. Why it matters: Fall brings the start of the traditional season for respiratory illnesses.

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.

North Carolina isn't the only area where whooping cough is on the rise. Cases are spiking across the nation, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting over 8,000, more than twice the amount recorded by the same date in 2024.

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to urge vaccination against whooping cough, as a nationwide outbreak is on track to hit a record.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to publicly support the

Whooping cough cases are on the rise nationally, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting 35,000 cases last year, a fivefold increase

The nation’s first Senate-confirmed CDC Director hit back Wednesday at Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who fired her less than a month into the job, saying he mischaracterized the circumstances of her ouster and that he is preparing an assault on vaccine access that puts the country in danger.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) wrote to HHS Secretary RFK Jr., urging his support of the whooping cough vaccine amid a nationwide outbreak.