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The unexpected trade off was lives saved from COVID in the short term versus future lives potentially lost to measles, pertussis, polio, RSV, influenza and other preventable diseases.—Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026 State law still would require vaccines for polio, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.—Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026 Keeping Cough Keeping Cough is a pertussis infection caused by holding in a productive cough owing to the fear of being perceived as having some form of coronavirus.—Alexis Wilkinson, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026 The danger with pertussis is the cough that can linger for weeks to months and difficulty breathing.—Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 25 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pertussis
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Latin per- thoroughly + tussis cough