Notice the rise when the vaccine was required?
https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/media/images/2025/04/Incidence-graph-2023.png
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#9 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-04-11 06:35 PM | Reply

First, that chart you posted is not at the link you embedded. Perhaps its buried in the paper, but the chart says it's from the CDC in April of 2025 (i.e. RFK, Jr.'s CDC)

Second, I think you need to look at that chart again. The "P" in DTP, DTaP, and TDaP stands for "Pertussis", aka Whooping Cough. Note the precipitous drop after DTP was introduced? By the 1970s, DTP was required everywhere in the US. Note there are virtually zero deaths until DTP was replaced by DTaP? This could indicate DTaP was less effective at preventing the disease, or not as effective at preventing death if one were to get the disease, or there may have been a rise of anti-vaccine sentiment at the time leading to more waivers. Unless you've actually studied the other affects that were going on at the time, it's hard to determine exactly why it started making a comeback in the mid-1990s. My personal suspicion, based on some reading about the change from DTP to DTaP and personal memories of the 90s, is that DTaP wasn't as effective and didn't provide as long-lasting protection, but there was also a coincident rise in anti-vaccine propoganda at the same time.

One thing that is absolutely clear, though, is that there wasn't a rise in cases when "the vaccine was required", as that occurred in the 50s.

I'm sure probably this has been investigated by people who actually understand immunology, epidemiology, and vaccines, but some things I noticed while looking at that chart: Some things that look interesting to me, and is cases started to rise after the DTaP vaccine replaced DTP, and seemed to accellerate as protection waned over time. The TDaP vaccine was introduced during a peak, and it dropped again. Now it is rising again as protection is probably waning, and people aren't getting boosters as they should, thanks to anti-vaccine disinformation campaigns.