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.
95 Comments
MeekerThanBeaker@lemmy.world · 168 pts · 327d
Why would the Democrats do this?
Also, it's fake news and the numbers are fake.
Coughing is the natural way to get rid of these whooping demons.
No need to wear a mask unless you are
kidnapping minoritiessaving freedom./s, of course.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 59 pts · 327d
You can't just come out in favor of vaccinations. That's electoral poison. You need to meet people in the middle. Vaccines for some, little American flags for others.
If you start taking a hard stance in favor of vaccinations, you are going to lose the election and you're going to get more Republicans in office. Florida's a winnable state, but we have to be moderate. We have to respect the longstanding cultural viewpoint that vaccines cause autism. We need to include people who hate vaccines in the conversation and promise to bring them into any future administration, because anti-vaxxers are an influential voting block we are obligated to respect and court.
If anything, the party needs more anti-vax Democrats. This is the path forward, because it is what the people organically and entirely rationally want. Arguing against it is just more Big Government Overreach. It costs tax payers money. And it doesn't respect the views of the working class.
If you're suggesting that the Democratic Party should become the party of vaccination, you are rooting for failure. In fact, you may be attempting to undermine the party from within, because you secretly support Trump. And why would you support Trump? Because you support Russia and China as a Communist. You're a Tankie and you shouldn't be in this conversation.
We need to purge the lingering stench of Communism from the Democratic Party of Florida. And that means taking a hard stance against far-left ideas like vaccination, public education, and potable water. That's why we're going to reach out to our close friends across the aisle and ask Ron DeSantis to carry our banner as the Democratic Nominee for the Governor of Florida in 2026.
db2@lemmy.world · 53 pts · 327d
That was completely disgusting. Bravo.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 327d
I concur. You should send that to Ken Martin
BremboTheFourth@piefed.ca · 10 pts · 327d
oh jesus how did i miss that we literally have Ken M chairing the party now
Spacehooks@reddthat.com · 6 pts · 327d
Lol all I could think is if we branded masks as little american flags to show patriotism I legitimately wonder if covid would have gone differently. Why didnt you bring this up sooner!
Hazor@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 326d
Seriously. If Republicans during covid had framed protecting each other with masks as protecting the country itself and thus a patriotic duty, we'd have had far fewer deaths. But instead they decided to kill their own voters with utter stupidity. Not that it cost them any electoral outcomes, evidently.
confusedbytheBasics@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 326d
This teeters between human comedy and AI slop. I can't quite tell which side of the line it's on. Well done.
Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 327d
Beautiful. You can see exactly where liberals turn into conservatives, if they haven't already.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 327d
At this point I think most people would be in favor of just letting Florida burn.
Fence it off or something, and in twenty years when they're all dead from preventable illnesses and accidents, we can just walk in and use the land. It would be so much easier
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 327d
I mean, the thing about Florida is that its full of genuinely cool, fun, happy people who - on any other day - would be totally normal. But then its also full of the most insane and toxic corporate flacks and hustlers this country can produce. And they have found a way to pump the state for all its worth (which is quite a bit) and suck that limp dick dry.
Just ground zero for what endless waves of the most vile political propaganda can do to the human brain. And Florida (plus Texas and Ohio) have become test sites for what corporate media plans to do to everyone else.
Soggy@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 327d
Turn the whole thing into a wildlife reserve.
crusa187@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 327d
I threw up a little reading this.
theacharnian@lemmy.ca · -3 pts · 327d
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 327d
Have the courage of your convictions and bang that out by hand next time.
warbond@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 327d
I don't really mind that it's AI generated, I mind that you waited to tell us 😔
KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 85 pts · 327d
Just stop reporting the numbers, problem solved.
bytesonbike@discuss.online · 38 pts · 327d
Ah, the COVID method of counting!
KyuubiNoKitsune@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 17 pts · 327d
1 million, 1.2 million, zero million, 3, the libs did it..
Tronn4@lemmy.world · 26 pts · 327d
You're hired! -maga everything
Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world · -6 pts · 327d
They kinda did. 81% in the headline sounds like a lot. But once you read it, its really only a few hundred in population of over 23m. It should also be noted that in 2023, there was a total of 85 cases for the entire year. So the increase was far more dramatic between 2023 and 2024 than 2024 and 2025.
snooggums@piefed.world · 21 pts · 327d
Good thing diseases don't have the potential for exponential growth or anything like that.
Also, it isn't like diseases spread like wildfire during the holidays in November and December or anything. Yup, those 2025 numbers are definitely final!
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 327d
Phew!
Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 327d
I dont really know how this affects what I said. In 2023, the case count was 85. A year later, over 700. The implication by everyone is that this is because of Trump, RFKjr, and their being fucking morons when it comes to vaccines. But as you can see, the increase in cases started before either of them came to power. So implication that this is happening because of Trump and RFKjr is wrong.
snooggums@piefed.world · 8 pts · 327d
The implication is that they will make things worse. Antivaxx bullshit was already a thing, they are just promoting it even more. People can't undo the vaccinations that have already been done, but as more and more people choose not to vaccinate the cases will continue to increase.
It isn't a magical on/off switch, which anyone who understands how vaccines work would know.
Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 327d
That may well be the case, but Im afraid that the implication is exactly as I stated. They are blaming Trump and RFKjr for this when, like you said, antivax bullshit was going on for years before they came to power. So the resolution isnt going to be getting them out of power. Its going to be much, MUCH harder than that.
jj4211@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 327d
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.
Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 326d
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.
snooggums@piefed.world · 2 pts · 327d
Getting them out of power is part of the solution because the longer RFK Jr has the ability to destroy the national health care agencies the longer it will take to fix things.
It is like you are against cleaning and dressing a wound because it won't heal it 100% instantly.
Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 326d
No, Im against over simplifying the solution to get worthless internet points.
The fact is, that theres a war of information. And because of people like you, that war is being lost. Far too many people only look for what fits their narrative, instead of what the actual truth is. Whether you realise it or not, you and those like you are advocating for stopping the bus at Trump and RFKjr. Which I am saying would be a mistake. They can be PART of the problem, but they are not THE problem.
sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 327d
Most of the time I see a statistic in a headline, I assume it's just trying to sensationalize the issue. And as my dad told me, most of the time you assume, you're right.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca · 45 pts · 327d
Republicans love suffering babies
I wish I could write something different, but that's what it is, they love suffering babies
I mean they love suffering in general, because they is what they always do and applaud, make people suffer one way or the other, but yeah, they especially love suffering babies and children.
They have the numbers too, they too can see the results. They were told this would happen, and now it happens and I guarantee you that they won't turn back to vaccines to stop the suffering and death. Instead they'll go on about God being misterious or some other mental gymnastics.
Republicans love dead babies
Let that sink in
radix@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 327d
I don't understand. We've tried everything: prayer, snake oil, complaining, EVERYTHING!
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 327d
We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!
theneverfox@pawb.social · 5 pts · 327d
The cause is obvious... It's those damn vaccines! Optional isn't good enough, we have to ban them all
Wiz@midwest.social · 4 pts · 327d
Tried apple-flavored horse paste?
Lemminary@lemmy.world · 27 pts · 327d
Imagine dying of a completely preventable disease.
Hazor@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 326d
It's almost like we don't have hundreds of years of data on the efficacy and safety of means to prevent them.
ZMoney@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 327d
Really interesting to see the USA become one of the countries on its list of countries that require vaccinations for travel to.
jj4211@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 327d
I'm a bit torn on this reporting...
On the one hand I'm totally with them on using this as a cautionary tale about vaccine hesitancy and how the administration policies dangerously exacerbate that phenomenon, and a rough indicator of what the consequences may look like.
On the other hand, the headline makes it sound like the Florida rollback has caused this, but that isn't strictly true because:
lunaluster@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 326d
The headline uses the word "amid," which is not specifically causative. But announcements have already been made, and the governor has insisted on moving ahead to eliminate vaccination requirements. People don't need a hard line to follow through on their personal choices to endanger others. They have essentially been given the green light, and they can excuse it in the meantime with "religious beliefs."
candyman337@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 326d
I'm always for the integrity of journalism because the lack thereof is part of the reason we're where we are today. A more accurate but eaqually as cautionary of a headline would be "Whooping cough cases on the rise in Florida as vaccine skepticism is legally supported by the states lawmakers" or something like that
bytesonbike@discuss.online · 18 pts · 327d
Who would have thought?
Bennyboybumberchums@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 327d
You tell us. Since the increase starts in 2023.
2023 = 85 cases
2024 = 715 cases
2025 = 1295 cases
Something is going on there for a long time.
VeryInterestingTable@jlai.lu · 17 pts · 327d
I can't wrap my head around who benefits from astroturfing anti-vax groups so much? Like if ever there are some people on earth who benefit from reduce vacination it has to be a handful. I suppose people who sell fake medicine? Or people who sell real medicine but for preventable diseases (by vaccination).
BakerBagel@midwest.social · 24 pts · 327d
originally, Wakefield put out his bogus study because he had a patent for a rubella vaccine, and wanted to discredit only the MMR vaccine, so people would buy his vaccine. Once that takes hold people run with it
voodooattack@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 327d
Your healthcare is privatised and predatory in nature, so not just a handful I think
Kaliax@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 327d
Psyops from hostile nation states. Destabilize.
Wiz@midwest.social · 7 pts · 327d
Russia. Their chief exports are misery and death.
brax@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 327d
Hospitals - assume a hospital stay costs a lot more than a vaccine.
Also funeral homes and cemetery owners.
mysticpickle@lemmy.ca · 17 pts · 327d
Well, they gotta be #1 in something
LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 327d
Used to be number 1 in tomato production and number 1 in orange production. Not any more.. don't think they were number one in tourism, but they are wrecking that.
Guess they still have the shark capitol and lightning capitol of the world
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 327d
#1 in quantity of domesticated dogs eaten by invasive pythons.
BenLeMan@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 327d
Republicans: Big whoop!
titanicx@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 327d
Ing cough
Rookie numbers, herd immunity at work here.
julysfire@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 327d
I cant wait to gat out of this state
pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 13 pts · 327d
Surprisedpikachu.gif
Tenthrow@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 327d
Is this another example of the mind blowingly competent left extremists?
ceenote@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 327d
I really can't think of a single dice roll in life with higher stakes than what parents you're born to.
Lemminary@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 327d
Imagine being born a healthy white straight cis male to a suburban, middle-class family that believes your severe illness from a preventable disease that led to your death was part of God's plan.
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 327d
Everyone stop telling me to imagine these horrible things! I don’t want to! I imagine enough horrible things on my own!
shalafi@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 327d
Much like the measles, I've never known or even heard of someone having it. Hell, I'm still not 100% on how those diseases work. Because we had pretty much wiped that shit out. My birth year was the cutoff for the smallpox vaccine, because we did wipe it out.
Lemminary@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 327d
I had measles, and it fucking sucked. Would not recommend. Smearing on that pink cream stuff was awful, but not as bad as the itchiness, the rashy bumps, and the overall feeling of dread.
Spacehooks@reddthat.com · 9 pts · 327d
The anitvax aka pro-plauge crowd asked for this.
ieGod@lemmy.zip · 9 pts · 327d
What could possibly have been done? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Reverendender@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 327d
Pretty much everything
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network · 7 pts · 327d
If it was only idiots who died from this kind of thing, it would be funny. Many innocent people will suffer and die, too. But somehow we're supposed to treat republicans like a legitimate political party and their members like reasonable people.
BilboBargains@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 327d
Burger King is getting in on the action with a promotional offer called Whooper and fries.
Treczoks@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 326d
They still report those numbers? Quick, make them stop so people won't learn about the consequences of voting GOP!
neidu3@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 327d
It's because of transgenders! And Antifa! And people kneeling at the Superb owl!
Anyway, it's all fake news. And the dems' fault. And something something Clinton.
Besides, I'd rather my kids die from 3rd world illnesses than have autism in my house.
(To those who can't detect sarcasm, consider this training material)
lechekaflan@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 327d
"Sunshine cures everything!"
M0oP0o@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 327d
Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 327d
aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 327d
Cevilia@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 327d
Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 327d
Did the (mostly) children getting whooping cough vote for it? Because if not that’s not really leopards eating faces. It’s just kids getting sick from stupid ass policies they had no say in.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 327d
It's leopards eating faces if their parents care that they have whooping cough. Which isn't a given.
Railing5132@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 327d
ItTs jUsT a cOmMoN cHiLdHoOD ILlNeSs !!1! 🤮
scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech · 1 pts · 327d
Nobody even does from it anymore!
MyOpinion@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 327d
Making kids dead again. Good old MAGA morons.
Gammelfisch@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 327d
I have zero sympathy for the contents in the Florida Oblast. Zero!
BetaBlake@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 327d
Republicans and social nedia have brought back old illnesses
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 327d
Well it sure beats being gay, am i right Florida?!
*hears sirens approaching*
Uh oh. I forgot.
Tedesche@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 327d
Let them die. Let’s put together a fund that helps pro-vaccine people move out of the Florida wasteland.
DrSoap@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 327d
The problem is that they're going to take out the immunocompromised who had nothing to do with it. And their mess is going to seep out of the border of their state because it a a vacation hotspot.
Hazor@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 326d
??? The people who are going to suffer and die from this are the children who don't get vaccinated and the immunocompromised who can't. The dingbats who wanted this will be fine because they themselves were vaccinated as children.
ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 326d
Oh noooo what a shame
EndOfLine@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 327d
I wonder what impact this has had / will have on the for-profit health care industry in the US.
BigMacHole@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 327d
The ONLY way to Prevent this is to PRAY MORE! Also we DONT want to Prevent it because Whooping Cough SAVES the Children!
phoenixarise@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 308d
Florida is a literal cesspool. Glad I’m far away from it.
Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 327d
They should pray harder.
Spacehooks@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 327d
Praying to nurgle got them into this.
betanumerus@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 326d
WhatGodIsMadeOf@feddit.org · 1 pts · 327d
Whoop whoop it's the year of Juggalo!
Sunflier@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 327d
Glad to see Darwinian evolution playing out. The children of the stupid are dieing off. Hopefully this means the next generation won't buy into Brawndo being what plants crave
lavander@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 0 pts · 327d
Fake news! There have always been whooping cough! My cousin took it! And he is fine! Better than the risk of microchip 5G in the vaccines!
— people that asked for this (likely)
Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 327d
I keep quoting that one famous Iowan: Let them die.
jellygoose@lemmy.ca · -2 pts · 327d
Good, let them die
Hazor@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 326d
The children who are going to suffer and die from this didn't ask for it, it was their parents who are themselves vaccinated.