In 2024, Germany recorded the highest number of whooping cough cases since reporting became mandatory in the year 2013. With almost 122 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, infants under one year of age were the most affected age bracket, while experts are expecting similarly high case numbers for 2025. Protection against this highly contagious disease in the first months of life is provided by vaccinating expectant mothers against the pertussis pathogen – the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. This represents a safe and effective method of indirect immunization as researchers led by Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Radboud University now show in The Lancet Microbe*.