Millions of children are vulnerable to preventable diseases as global vaccination efforts stall

Efforts to vaccinate children globally have stalled since 2010, leaving millions vulnerable to tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, and other diseases that can be easily prevented.

Protection from measles in particular dropped in 100 countries between 2010 and 2019, unravelling decades of progress, including in rich countries that had previously eliminated the highly infectious disease, according to a July analysis of global vaccination trends published in the journal Lancet.

“After clean water, vaccination is the most effective intervention for protecting the health of our children,” said Helen Bedford, a professor of children’s health at University College London, who was not connected to the research. She warned there has been a small but worrying rise in the number of parents skipping vacci