Join Senior Editor Stephanie Becker as she discusses the future of maternal vaccination in Europe with Professor Asma Khalil and Professor Paul Heath. They explore the key themes of the new Series in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, discussing lessons from RSV and pertussis vaccination, vaccine hesitancy and barriers to uptake, safety and surveillance, and the next-generation of maternal vaccines. They also consider what needs to change - from stronger evidence and better communication to more equitable delivery - so that future maternal vaccination programmes can succeed in Europe.

Click here to read the full articles:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(26)00303-0/fulltext

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(26)00259-0/fulltext

Can a comparison of lungs from 1991 and 2024 show how plastic exposure is changing? In this episode of In Conversation With…, Evgenia Koutsouki, Senior Editor at The Lancet Group, speaks with Dr Francesco Prattichizzo of IRCCS MultiMedica about the study on “Microplastics in human lung tissue from autopsy samples collected in 1991 and 2024: a comparative post-mortem study.” The study found that microplastics were more common in 2024 than in 1991 in lung tissues, with higher particle burdens, smaller particles, and a wider range of polymers. Lung samples containing microplastics also showed markers associated with inflammation and fibrosis, although the study cannot establish causation. Dr Prattichizzo discusses what these findings mean, how the samples were analysed, the risk of contamination, possible exposure routes, and what evidence is needed next, including studies in living populations.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-776226002164/fulltext

In this episode of In Conversation With, Ivana Nedic, Deputy Editor of The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, speaks with Sydney Tucker, Dr Susan Hillis, and Dr Tetiana Machabeli about their study evaluating Hope Groups, a group-based mental health, parenting, and violence prevention intervention for Ukrainian parents and caregivers affected by war and displacement. The conversation explores how Hope Groups were co-created in response to the needs of Ukrainian families, how the programme combines support for caregiver mental health with parenting skills and violence prevention, and what it took to conduct a cluster randomised controlled trial during an active war. The guests discuss the study’s findings, including improvements in caregiver mental health, parenting practices, and violence against children, as well as the importance of flexible, community-based delivery. The episode also examines the broader methodological and ethical challenges of conducting rigorous trials in conflict settings, including how researchers can balance scientific validity with the urgent need to provide potentially beneficial interventions and support families in crisis-affected settings.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(26)00195-X/fulltext