San Francisco, CA
Health experts eye newly reported cases of whooping cough in San Francisco
Whooping cough cases seen in San Francisco schools
Since January – the San Francisco Department of Public Health says there have been 13 cases in the city – most of them among high school students at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep.
SAN FRANCISCO – Health experts are once again eyeing the spread of Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in the Bay Area; this time in San Francisco, where more than a dozen cases have been reported since January, including at a Catholic high school in the city.
“People should not be panicking at all about this,” said Dr. Monic Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UCSF Medical Center. “The main thing is to control the outbreak, meaning that anyone who has these symptoms has to stay home, has to get the antibiotic.”
Since January, The San Francisco Department of Public Health says there have been 13 cases in the city; most of them among high school students at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory.
The symptom to be on the lookout for is the telltale dry cough.
“Young children can have a very whoop, kind of musical aspect to the cough,” said Gandhi. “The vaccine can protect you from really severe disease, but it can’t protect you completely from getting it. Kind of like the COVID vaccine, you can still get COVID even though you’ve been COVID vaccinated, but it protects you from severe disease.”
Gandhi says the vast majority of people in the Bay Area have already been vaccinated, and described the vaccine as, “really safe, [with] very few side effects. People do really well with these vaccines.”
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“I’m really not that concerned that much,” said Jie Yng, whose daughter attends Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory. “School handled very well. They informed me several times.”
“We’re pretty much vaccinated, so what can you do? You have to be active,” said another parent, Rod Bernardino.
San Francisco is not the only area in The Bay with cases. Since December, neighboring Marin County has reported around 100 cases of whooping cough. Many of the cases were tied to students at Tamalpais High in Mill Valley.
For now, Gandhi says the only age group people should be truly concerned about is newborns.
“They don’t have the immunity when they’re firstborn, and they can get really sick from Pertussis,” said Gandhi.
Gandhi says people with newborns in their household should make sure that they are completely separated from anyone else living under the same roof who has tested positive for whooping cough or is displaying symptoms.
What’s New
Hilton hotel workers in San Francisco voted on Christmas Eve to approve a new union contract after a 93-day strike, according to the Unite Here Local 2 union.
The union, which represents about 15,000 workers in the region, announced that the deal settles the last of the city’s 2024 hotel strikes, covering approximately 900 Hilton workers.
Newsweek has contacted Unite Here Local 2 and Hilton via email for comment.
Justin Sullivan/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Why It Matters
The new contracts after this year’s strikes establish significant improvements in wages, health care and workload protections for workers at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott-operated hotels.
The agreements conclude months of labor unrest that involved thousands of workers and disrupted San Francisco’s hotel industry.
What To Know
Hilton workers voted 99.4 percent in favor of the agreement on Christmas Eve, which includes a $3 per hour immediate wage increase, additional raises, and protections against understaffing and increased workloads.
The four-year contract preserves affordable union health insurance and provides pension increases. The deal covers workers at Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55, with 650 workers having actively participated in the strike.
This agreement follows similar contracts reached with Hyatt workers on Friday and Marriott workers last Thursday, covering a total of 2,500 workers who had been on strike since late September.
What People Are Saying
Bill Fung, a housekeeping attendant at Hilton San Francisco Union Square for 29 years, said: “These 93 days have not been easy, and I’m so proud that my coworkers and I never gave up. We stood together through the rain and cold, and even though there were some hard days, it was all worth it. We will go back to work with our health care, good raises, and the confidence of knowing that when we fight, we win.”
Lizzy Tapia, President of Unite Here Local 2, said: “Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott workers refused to give up their health care or go backwards – and we proved on the picket line that we’re not afraid of a tough fight. As contract talks begin with the city’s other full-service hotels in the new year, they should know that this is the new standard they must accept for their own employees.”
San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie said on X: “All those that have been out on strike will be back to work, and just in time for Christmas. So, things are looking bright as we head into 2025.
What Happens Next
Unite Here Local 2 said it would push for other full-service hotels in San Francisco to adopt the same standards established by the Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott agreements when contract negotiations resume in 2025.
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