In April, a 2021 study linking childhood vaccines to sudden infant death syndrome was removed by the publishing journal due to “serious methodological flaws” and “potential research errors.” On June 15, the U.S. health secretary shared a letter to the journal’s editor demanding an explanation for the study’s retraction, despite the journal having published a full explanation months earlier. The letter drew immediate criticism from scientists, who accused the health secretary of interfering with the scientific editorial process. However, many vaccine opponents expressed support for the letter and alleged, without evidence, that researchers are covering up evidence linking SIDS to vaccines. Some posts resurfaced the false claim that SIDS rates decreased early in the COVID-19 pandemic due to missed vaccinations, despite SIDS rates actually increasing significantly in 2020. Several posts also noted that other vaccine safety studies have recently been retracted. Some explained that the studies were deeply flawed and were retracted for legitimate reasons, while others suggested the retractions are part of a conspiracy to suppress evidence that vaccines are unsafe.
Recommendation
False claims about vaccines and SIDS may increase hesitancy and distrust in childhood vaccines, particularly when they originate from peer-reviewed studies or health officials. Health communicators may highlight the decades of evidence showing no link between vaccines and SIDS, that the condition affects vaccinated and unvaccinated children at similar rates, and that SIDS rates do not increase when vaccination rates rise. Messaging may explain that the retracted study relied entirely on unverified vaccine adverse event reports, which critics say the author misinterpreted and misused. Messaging may also note that the author has no apparent medical or scientific expertise and is a prominent anti-vaccine figure who co-authored—with a major proponent of the false claim that vaccines cause autism—a controversial vaccine safety “analysis” that is currently under investigation.
Fact-checking sources: AAP, USA Today
Communication resources: Find talking points and tools to help you communicate about pediatric immunizations
