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Childhood vaccination coverage stalls worldwide
Health Check
Jun 25, 2025

There has been immense progress on childhood vaccination since 1974, with over four billion children vaccinated worldwide. So why now are we seeing vaccination rates stall, and decline? We look at what is driving this stagnation that is putting millions of children at risk.

The psychological impacts of war can persist for long after the events themselves. Reporter Stephanie Tam talks to the therapists aiming to break cycles of intergenerational trauma in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Being diagnosed with ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome, can be a long process that requires ruling out other conditions first, we discover how researchers are working towards identifying blood biomarkers of chronic fatigue syndrome. Also, on the show we hear from Dr Adele Goman who has unexpectedly found hearing interventions reduce the risk of falling.

Finally, Dr Phil Silva the founder of the Dunedin Study has died. We take a look at some of the key achievements of this landmark study that has been running for half a century. It follows the same group of almost 1000 people, all born within 12 months of each other in the early 1970s.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producers: Katie Tomsett & Hannah Robins Studio Manager: Sue Maillot

(Image: Doctor injecting a vaccine. Credit: Karl Tapales via Getty Images)

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Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Jonathan Blackwell


26min 28sec

Childhood vaccination coverage stalls worldwide

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