FACT CHECK: Is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Linked To The DTaP Vaccine?
A post shared on Instagram claims Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is linked to the vaccine for Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Acellular Pertussis (DTaP).
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Verdict: False
The claim is unfounded. There is no link between the two, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Check Your Fact in an email.
Fact Check:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Friday that it is now recommending a new vaccine to help protect babies from severe respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, according to CNN. The shot is to be given in the third trimester of pregnancy to protect newborns from RSV during their first six months of life, NPR reported.
An Instagram post claims that SIDS is linked to the DTaP vaccine. The post shares two slides covering the claim.
“If SIDS (sudden infant death) isn’t linked to vaccines, why is it listed as a side effect on the DTaP vaccine insert?” the first slide of the post reads. The second slide then shows a list of adverse reactions that have been reported after the use of the INFANRIX vaccine, one of which is SIDS.
The claim is baseless, however. The Instagram screenshot originates from page 11 of a package insert from the FDA, which includes the following disclaimer, “In addition to reports in clinical trials for INFANRIX, the following adverse reactions have been identified during postapproval use of INFANRIX. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to vaccination.”
“Vaccines have not been shown to cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS),” the FDA said in an email to Check Your Fact. “The inclusion of an adverse event from spontaneous reports in labeling, such as SIDS, does not mean that the adverse event was caused by the vaccine.” (RELATED: Have Researchers Found The Cause Of SIDS?)
“As described in the Infanrix prescribing information, in addition to reports in clinical trials, also included are worldwide voluntary reports of adverse events received for Infanrix since it was introduced to the market,” a spokesperson for GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of the INFANRIX vaccine, said in an email to Check Your Fact. “These adverse events were reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size; therefore, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to vaccination.”
Misinformation regarding vaccines have circulated online recently. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim alleging that data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the COVID-19 vaccine could reduce a person’s life expectancy by 24 years.
