Experts Raise Questions About SIDS After Study Shows Vaccinating Preterm Babies Greatly Increases Risk of Apnea
Hospitalized preterm infants had a 170% higher incidence of apnea within 48 hours of receiving their routine 2-month vaccinations compared to unvaccinated babies, according to a new study.
Hospitalized preterm infants had a 170% higher incidence of apnea within 48 hours of receiving their routine 2-month vaccinations compared to unvaccinated babies, according to the data in a new study.
The study, published Jan. 6 in JAMA Pediatrics, defined apnea “as a respiration pause greater than 20 seconds or a respiration pause greater than 15 seconds with associated bradycardia” — or low heart rate of less than 80 beats per minute.
Noting that preterm infants receive their routine vaccinations at the same time as full-term infants, the study sought to determine whether routine 2-month vaccinations resulted in an increased risk of apnea.
The authors concluded, “The similar number and duration of apneic events and lack of serious adverse events suggest that current vaccination recommendations for hospitalized preterm infants are appropriate.”
However, Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., senior research scientist at Children’s Health Defense, said the authors arrived at their conclusion “by ignoring the risks” evident in their own data.
“A premature infant experiencing apnea will likely have a longer neonatal intensive care unit stay, further exposing them to hospital-acquired infection,” Jablonowski said. “This is on top of the other risk factors for apnea like death, respiratory failure, long-term lung problems and failure to thrive.
In a Substack post, cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough suggested that “it is conceivable” that with seven vaccines at age 2 months and 16 vaccines at 12-15 months, “combination vaccination could be associated with significant unmonitored apneas, febrile seizures, or both resulting in sudden infant death syndrome [SIDS] at home.”
Biologist Christina Parks, Ph.D., an expert in how vaccines affect the immune system, told The Defender the study confirms “what previous studies on premature infants have shown — that vaccination induces cardiorespiratory stress that manifests as the slowing of heart rate (bradycardia) and respiration as well as the cessation of breathing (apnea) for brief periods of time.”
Parks said the fact that “the known risks have not been implicated as potential causes of SIDS is inexcusable at this point.”
Study suggests ‘one-size-fits-all approach to vaccination’ not appropriate for preterm infants
Research scientist and author James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., told The Defender the study “is a wake-up call” that highlights how routine vaccinations, particularly in preterm infants, may carry overlooked risks.
“The increased incidence of apnea in vaccinated preterm infants suggests that the one-size-fits-all approach to vaccination may not be appropriate for such a vulnerable population,” Lyons-Weiler said. “It underscores the need to consider individual physiological differences — especially in those with underdeveloped systems — and tailor vaccination practices accordingly.”
Lyons-Weiler said the study’s authors appear to prioritize the broader public health benefits of vaccination over the individual risks demonstrated in the study. He said:
“They assume that the short-term apnea risks are outweighed by the long-term protection against infectious diseases. However, this conclusion overlooks critical questions about long-term outcomes for these infants, particularly if apnea episodes have lingering neurological consequences. They did not, however, really think this through. What is a pre-term infant’s life worth?”
Parks noted that the study did not present an analysis of what the potential causes of the increased incidence of apnea in vaccinated infants might be. “The complete lack of interest in the mechanisms by which vaccination is increasing cardiorespiratory distress in infants is also somewhat shocking.”
Jablonowski noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood immunization schedule has expanded since the study was conducted, from 2018 to 2021.
“Had this study been performed today, with the rapidly expanding CDC immunization schedule, the infants would have received Prevnar 20 instead of Prevnar 13 — so, seven additional antigens for pneumococcal, the rotavirus vaccine — up to five more antigens, and a monoclonal antibody for RSV,” Jablonowski said.
Four vaccinated infants had suspected cases of sepsis
Jablonowski also highlighted a less-emphasized outcome of the study: Four vaccinated infants had suspected cases of sepsis — a condition where the body responds improperly to an infection. By comparison, only one unvaccinated infant has a suspected case of sepsis.
Jablonowski said:
“The most startling finding of this study was not its primary or secondary outcomes, but an exploratory outcome concerning sepsis.
“No one versed in vaccine adverse reactions would be surprised that four vaccinated infants — compared to one unvaccinated infant — presented with fever. Everyone should be surprised that four vaccinated infants — compared to one unvaccinated infant — had blood cultures or were administered antibiotics over a concern for sepsis.
“Did the onslaught of the study’s five vaccines, covering 19 antigens, simultaneously administered, mimic sepsis symptoms or degrade the immune systems so severely to allow a pathogen to gain a foothold?”
Previous studies have confirmed the risk of infant sepsis after vaccination, Parks said.
“Traditionally, doctors assumed that infant sepsis was due to bacterial infection and treated with antibiotics even when no bacterial infection could be identified. However, these previous studies demonstrated that it was actually vaccination that led to this potentially life-threatening hyper-inflammatory state,” Parks said.
According to French independent scientist Hélène Banoun, Ph.D., the study confirms a French medical thesis published in 2013. That study examined 144 preterm babies, finding that 68% of newborns experienced significant cardiorespiratory events after vaccination.
“Taken together, all of these studies show that vaccination causes extreme, and possibly life-threatening, stress to the infant body and the tinier the body, the less resources it has to withstand that stress,” Parks said.
Aluminum-containing vaccines may pose a particular risk to preterm infants
Lyons-Weiler said that the study’s results also provide an indication of the risk involved with administering multiple vaccines at the same time or within a short period — particularly in babies and young children.
“Preterm infants already have underdeveloped immune and neurological systems, and the cumulative aluminum burden from multiple vaccines could exacerbate risks like apnea,” he said. “This study suggests that combination vaccination in such populations needs to be carefully reevaluated.”
He also noted that some vaccines routinely administered to infants contain aluminum. He analyzed the potential risks of administering such vaccines to babies on his Substack.
“Aluminum adjuvants are known to trigger immune activation and inflammation, which could impact respiratory and neurological stability in preterm infants,” Lyons-Weiler said. “Unfortunately, the study did not explore specific mechanisms, such as aluminum adjuvants, that might explain the observed increase in apnea. This is a significant oversight.”
Aluminum salts “are potent immune activators and could trigger systemic inflammation, disrupting respiratory control,” Lyons-Weiler said. He said infant vaccination could also spur cytokine production, “which may interfere with the immature neurological pathways responsible for regulating breathing.”
“Simultaneous administration of multiple vaccines increases the immune activation burden and cumulative aluminum exposure, compounding risks,” Lyons-Weiler said.
Writing on Substack, Lyons-Weiler called for vaccines that do not contain aluminum to be prioritized. He also called for the delayed vaccination of infants “not at immediate risk of Hepatitis B infection, or who have respiratory or cardiac episodes following vaccination” and proposed weight-based dosing “to account for the smaller body mass and underdeveloped renal function of preterm infants.”
“Delaying non-essential vaccinations until greater physiological maturity may provide a safer path forward,” Lyons-Weiler wrote.
For decades in Australia SIDS cases are referred to the Coroner for investigation and report. Why has nobody, as yet, correlated vaccine status with SIDS? Unless responsible medicos come forth at the time of infant death and engage this subject all other complainants, parents, nurses etc; are denied any sense of credibility so the subject gets rolled over in red tape.
Is preterm a synonym for premature?