Pertussis vaccines and protective immunity

•Immune protection against B. pertussis is multifactorial mediated by both humoral and cellular responses.•Natural infection or vaccination with whole cell pertussis vaccine induces protective Th1/Th17 responses.•Acellular pertussis vaccines induce Th2 immune responses. It protects from disease but fails to prevent bacterial colonization or transmission.•B. pertussis-specific lung resident memory CD4 T cells (TRM) likely play a crucial role in providing long-term protection against reinfection.