By: Nick Bettinger What is the Whooping Cough vaccine? Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a bacterial respiratory disease that is highly contagious.  Pertussis is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis and is spread by person-to-person contact such as coughing, sneezing, or close proximity.  Pertussis causes violent coughing and difficulty breathing which leads to the […]