Whooping Cough Cases Have Eased in Queensland. Spring Could Change That

By Dr Prathibha Elizabeth Jose, GP with a clinical interest in women’s health and children’s health at Carrara Family Practice

Between 2024 and 2025, Australia recorded its worst whooping cough activity in 35 years, more than 82,000 cases nationally, and Queensland, including the Gold Coast, was named among the areas hit hardest. That’s the story most people remember. Here’s the part that hasn’t made as many headlines: case numbers have dropped sharply through early 2026, back down to levels typically seen between outbreaks.

That’s genuinely good news. It’s also not the full picture. Whooping cough follows the seasons, and spring, which starts in just over a week, is when cases typically climb.

As a GP with a particular focus on women’s and children’s health, this is a topic I think about often, not because it’s alarming, but because a few simple, well timed vaccinations make such a clear difference.

What actually happened

The 2024 outbreak was Queensland’s worst on record. The state recorded more than 12,500 cases that year alone, compared with 549 at the same point in 2023. Vaccination coverage had been quietly declining in the years before that surge. Pertussis vaccination rates among pregnant women in Queensland fell from 77.2 percent in 2020 to 70.7 percent in 2023, and some regions recorded coverage below 65 percent. Childhood vaccination rates slipped too, from around 94 percent to under 91 percent over roughly the same period.

That matters because vaccinating during pregnancy reduces the risk of a baby contracting whooping cough by around 75 percent, and most hospitalisations and deaths from the disease happen in babies under six months old, before they’re old enough for their own first vaccination.

Where things stand right now

As of early 2026, pertussis activity nationally has returned to levels typically seen outside outbreak periods, roughly 80 percent lower than the same period in 2025. Childhood vaccination coverage remains high overall, above 90 percent for one, two and five year olds, even though it has eased in recent years.

In other words, the emergency has passed. That’s worth saying plainly, because it’s true, and because health information should be as calm as the facts allow.

Why spring changes the picture

Whooping cough is cyclical, with epidemics tending to recur every three to four years, and in Australia, most cases occur during spring and summer. Immunity from both vaccination and past infection also wanes over time, which is exactly why boosters exist. None of this means another 2024 style outbreak is guaranteed. It does mean spring is a sensible, practical moment to check where you and your family actually stand, rather than assuming last year’s vaccination is still doing its job.

Who’s worth checking in on

• Pregnant women, recommended between 20 and 32 weeks of every pregnancy, including closely spaced pregnancies
• Infants and children, on the standard schedule at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months, and 4 years
• Grandparents and anyone in close contact with a new baby, if it’s been more than 10 years since their last booster
• Healthcare and childcare workers, who are also recommended a 10 yearly booster

If you’re not sure when you or your children were last vaccinated, that’s a completely normal thing not to have front of mind, and an easy thing to check.

Worth asking about at the same visit

If you’re pregnant, this is also a good time to ask about the maternal RSV vaccine, recommended between 28 and 36 weeks, which is now funded and can be given alongside whooping cough and flu vaccination in the same appointment.

Check your family’s vaccination status

Spring is a reasonable, unforced reason to check in, not a reason to worry.
Vaccination is available through our nurse-led immunisation services, and whooping cough vaccination in pregnancy can be arranged as part of your antenatal care at Carrara Family Practice.