From the Guidelines
There is no evidence that vaccines cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and in fact, recent evidence suggests that vaccination may have a protective effect against SIDS. Vaccines are thoroughly tested for safety before approval and are continuously monitored for adverse effects 1. The timing of routine vaccinations (2,4, and 6 months) coincides with the peak age for SIDS (2-4 months), which may lead some to incorrectly associate the two events. SIDS is the unexplained death of a seemingly healthy infant under one year of age, typically during sleep. While its exact cause remains unknown, risk factors include prone sleeping position, soft bedding, overheating, exposure to tobacco smoke, and prematurity. To reduce SIDS risk, parents should:
- Place babies on their backs to sleep
- Use a firm sleep surface with no soft objects or bedding
- Keep babies in the same room but not the same bed as parents
- Avoid overheating
- Ensure babies receive recommended vaccinations on schedule, as vaccination may have a protective effect against SIDS 1. Following these preventive measures significantly reduces the risk of SIDS while vaccines help protect infants from serious infectious diseases. A meta-analysis of 4 studies found a multivariate summary OR for immunizations and SIDS to be 0.54 (95% CI: 0.39–0.76), indicating that the risk of SIDS is halved by immunization 1.
From the Research
Sudden Infant Death and Vaccine Studies
- Multiple studies have investigated the potential link between vaccines and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 2, 3, 4, 5.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that vaccines do not cause SIDS, based on multiple studies and safety reviews 2.
- A retrospective case-control study found that diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis vaccine was not a risk factor for SIDS, although there was a statistical difference in vaccination status between SIDS cases and controls aged less than three months 3.
- An ecological study found that increased diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) immunisation coverage was associated with decreased SIDS mortality rates, suggesting that timely DTP immunisation may help prevent SIDS 4.
Vaccine Administration and SIDS
- The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database analysis found that 58% of infant deaths reported from 1990 through 2019 clustered within 3 days post-vaccination, and 78.3% occurred within 7 days post-vaccination 5.
- The excess of deaths during these early post-vaccination periods was statistically significant, suggesting a potential link between vaccines and sudden unexplained infant deaths 5.
- Several theories have been proposed to explain the potential pathogenic mechanism behind these fatal events, including the role of inflammatory cytokines, adjuvants, and biochemical or synergistic toxicity due to multiple vaccines administered concurrently 5.
Vaccine Recommendations
- The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that infants receive several vaccines directed against various infectious diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis, starting at birth 6.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health authorities emphasize the importance of timely vaccination to prevent specific infectious diseases and potentially SIDS 2, 4.