The Overview podcast: Why have MMR vaccination rates dropped?

In each episode of The Overview, we'll examine one story from the headlines, dipping into history to explain how we got to where we are today – and peering into the future to predict what will happen next.

With contributions from The Week’s writers and insights from leading subject specialists, The Overview provides a concise, engaging exploration of the debates and questions shaping the news agenda today and in the months to come.

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The MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) jab vaccinates against some of the world's most infectious diseases, but the number of children getting the vaccine has fallen during the pandemic.

With more than one in ten children in England starting school without having been jabbed, what does history tell us about this vaccination, why have uptake rates fallen, and what are the future implications?

In the first episode of The Week's new podcast, The Overview, Julia O'Driscoll and Kari Wilkin speak with guest experts Helen Bedford, Professor of Children's Health at UCL and Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, and Helen Donovan, Royal College of Nursing's Public Health Lead, to find out more.