When it comes to keeping her two children healthy, Sameera Anwar says she’s feeling much more at ease than last year.
“And that’s primarily because [my son] was born last November, so I was really scared with just his older brother going to daycare, him being born, being little, winter [and] all of those things,” said Anwar. “I think there’s only so much you can do. So all the healthcare things, take them to their wellness visits, get them their vaccines, and expose them to enough safe bacteria so they can grow and build their immune systems.”
It is those same concerns that medical professionals in the Denver metro area say more families should be mindful as cases of whooping cough have tripled in Colorado this year compared to 2023.
“I think as people are getting back to their normal activities and normal travel and normal personal gatherings and so on and so forth, we just have more contact between people, and that’s how this disease spreads,” said Dr. Bernadette Albanese, Medical Officer with Adams County Public Health Department.