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The vaccination divide

Why are some people losing trust in vaccines?

A global survey of public attitudes to health and science has found that twenty percent of Europeans have no confidence in life-saving vaccines. The figure was highest in France where a third of the adult population does not believe that immunisation is safe. Vaccination rates have stalled in many regions, and cases of infectious diseases, like measles, have soared. At the same time, many people who do support immunisation say that they have no understanding of the science behind it. The Wellcome Trust study also says that confidence in vaccines is much higher in developing countries than in the developed world. Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of expert guests to discuss what's behind the vaccination divide. Is the world is taking a step back in its ability to stop the spread of preventable infectious diseases? Should parents have the final say about the health of their children? And how much of the vaccine anxiety is driven by misinformation on the internet?

Available now

53 minutes

Last on

Fri 21 Jun 2019 23:06GMT

Contributors

Anna Merlan - Reporter and author of Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power

Peter Hotez - Paediatrician, and Dean of National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine

Emilie Karafillakis - Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Also featuring:

Julian Ma - Professor of Molecular Immunology, St. George's University of London

Michelle Goldstein - holistic health professional

Babar Bin Atta - Pakistan Prime Minister's Focal Person on Polio Eradication

Picture

A nurse gives a free flu vaccine at a mobile flu vaccination centre in Russia. Credit: Sergei Bobylev\TASS via Getty Images聽

Broadcasts

  • Fri 21 Jun 2019 08:06GMT
  • Fri 21 Jun 2019 23:06GMT

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