SIDS in Unvaccinated Children

Why do some people think that there is no SIDS in unvaccinated children?

Paul Thomas and Polly Tommey don’t think that unvaccinated children can die from SIDS.

The usual suspects…

SIDS in Unvaccinated Children

In this case, you can thank Paul Thomas and Polly Tommey.

Tommey: So you have a chapter on SIDS in your new book, Vax Facts, do you? I. In that chapter, which I have read your book, but I can't remember exactly everything you've written. Do we know if there's any SIDS in the unvaccinated community?

Thomas: I've never seen heard of a case of SIDS in the unvaxed, have you?

Tommey: No, never.

Thomas: No, I, I would be. I mean, it's, it would be close to impossible just because what would be the mechanism? I mean, okay, so I was a Pediatrician right out of training when the American Academy Pediatrics came out with the back to sleep program. Okay. And of course that was my academy. And so. Oh, back to sleep. We can save babies lives by putting them on their backs because if you, if you let them sleep on their tummies, they suffocate and die. Well, the vaccine program had just been expanded. This was 1987, 1988 when that was being rolled out and I was just finishing my training and all the vaccine deaths, what I know now to have probably been vaccine deaths were now being blamed on sleep position. So it was a nice way to divert attention away from the real cause of these babies dying, which was the vaccines. They've blamed suffocation by moms. Moms always get blamed. Right? So, oh, you were sleeping with your baby and you suffocated them.

So not only are they blaming all SIDS deaths on vaccines, Paul Thomas is saying that the back to sleep campaign was a cover-up for “vaccine deaths.”

Of course, none of this is true.

It doesn’t even make any sense!

If those were “vaccine deaths,” then how were they reduced by simply putting a baby to sleep on their back, after all, SIDS deaths decreased with the back to sleep program.

Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated — SIDS Edition

Also, tragically, there are many reports of SIDS in unvaccinated children.

“This meta-analysis has shown immunisation is associated with a significantly lower risk of SIDS.”

Do immunisations reduce the risk for SIDS? A meta-analysis

In fact, that’s how we know that getting vaccinated can lower your baby’s risk of SIDS!

“Half of the SIDS victims had started their immunisation schedule prior to death (154/307) compared to 60% of the control infants (prior to interview: 585/971).”

Sudden infant death syndrome: No increased risk after immunisation

We know, because this was all thoroughly researched after anti-vaccine influencers pushed the idea that vaccines were causing SIDS back in the 1980s.

It wasn’t true then, and it isn’t true now.

Folks should also understand that Paul Thomas’ idea that the back to sleep campaign didn’t reduce SIDS deaths is perhaps more dangerous than his usual propaganda about vaccines.

Why?

In addition to scaring parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids, he might be encouraging unsafe sleep practices by trying to discredit the back to sleep program.

Just look at what happened in Sweden if you don’t believe that safe sleep messaging helps reduce SIDS.

The incidence of SIDS increased after Sweden stopped using the DPT vaccine in 1979, dropped when they advised against prone sleeping in 1992, and continued to drop when they started using the newer DTaP vaccine in 1996!

They saw a continued rise in SIDS after they stopped using their DPT vaccine, a drop with their back to sleep recommendations, and a continued drop when they started using DTaP.

Of course, that’s not surprising.

Studies have shown that unvaccinated children are not healthier than vaccinated children. They are just more likely to get vaccine-preventable diseases.

And they might be at higher risk for SIDS.

References

Vennemann MM, Höffgen M, Bajanowski T, Hense HW, Mitchell EA. Do immunisations reduce the risk for SIDS? A meta-analysis. Vaccine. 2007 Jun 21;25(26):4875-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2007.02.077. Epub 2007 Mar 16. PMID: 17400342.

Vennemann MM, Butterfass-Bahloul T, Jorch G, Brinkmann B, Findeisen M, Sauerland C, Bajanowski T, Mitchell EA; GeSID Group. Sudden infant death syndrome: no increased risk after immunisation. Vaccine. 2007 Jan 4;25(2):336-40. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.07.027. Epub 2006 Aug 4. PMID: 16945457.

Immunization Safety Review: Vaccinations and Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy. Institute of Medicine (US) Immunization Safety Review Committee; Stratton K, Almario DA, Wizemann TM, et al., editors. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2003.