Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years. Yacold also

partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for

gut health, an investigator-led research program. To learn more about Yachtold, visit yawcult.co.com.j

That's Y-A-K-U-L-T.C-O.J-P. When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacolt.

Hi, this is Your Health Quickly, a Scientific American podcast series.

We bring you the latest vital health news, discoveries that affect your body and your mind.

And we break down the medical research to help you stay healthy.

I'm Tanya Lewis.

I'm Josh Fishman.

We are Scientific American Senior Health Editors.

On today's show, we're going to talk about the alarming decline in vaccination rates for

childhood illnesses like measles and polio and what we should do about it before there's an outbreak.

COVID gave a huge boost to the anti-vax movement.

But vaccination rates for many childhood diseases were starting to erode long before that.

That's right. It started with people like Jenny McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

who were spreading false information about the effects of vaccines and autism.

And it got amplified from there.

It's really become an organized movement now.

Absolutely. So it may not surprise you that during the pandemic, the number of kids getting routine vaccinations fell even more, leaving them more vulnerable to these diseases.

That's not good. The last thing we need is another measles or whooping cough outbreak.

Exactly.

...