Australia's Vaccination Rates Plummet, Experts Warn of Outbreaks

0:00New data out of Australia shows childhood vaccination rates dropping for the fifth straight year in 2025. More than 80,000 kids aged five and under aren't fully up to date on their shots. That's the lowest coverage for one year olds in 12 years, hitting every milestone from one to five years old. Coverage for two year olds just dipped below 90% for the first time, leaving one in ten unprotected against killers like measles, whooping, cough, and meningitis. Teen HPV shots are down too, with girls at 78.7% and boys at 75.6% way off the 90%. Goal. First nation's kids are hit hardest, falling under 90% early on. This trend has experts sounding the alarm, warning of more severe illnesses and deaths from preventable diseases. Just in the last two years, two young babies died from whooping cough for the first time in a decade. One mom still mourns her newborn son Blake, lost to the same

1:00bud back in 1997 before vaccines could protect him. He fought six weeks. An intensive care but didn't make it. No single cause, but access issues, travel costs, vaccine fatigue from COVID days and misinformation are piling up. The government's national immunization strategy launched last year, with $600 million for 31 vaccines covering 18. Diseases, but experts say it needs more speed and cash to fight back. If we don't reverse this now, we'll see outbreaks we thought were history time to get those shots and arms and keep our kids safe. Sydney news today, powered by AI bringing you what matters.