Lessons from the Lockdown
Why are so many fewer children dying?A White Paper from Health Choice
By Amy Becker and Mark Blaxill
June 18, 2020
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7. Causation? When infants die, the cause is frequently
some form of congenital condition or birth defect. Sadly,
accidents and homicides are frequent causes as well.
There are however, frequent cases in which previously
healthy infants die unexpectedly. These deaths are
usually classified as “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome” or
SIDS. According to the CDC, SIDS deaths are one of the
two largest causes of death among infants aged 1 month
to 1 year. (7)
We have no specific data on the trend in SIDS deaths
during the pandemic. We have, however, heard
anecdotal reports from emergency room (ER) doctors
suggesting some have observed a decline in SIDS. One
doctor who says he might see 3 cases of SIDS in a typical
week has seen zero cases since the pandemic and associated lockdowns began.
What has changed during this period that might have such an effect? Are infant deaths not being
recorded? Are parents taking better care of their families while working remotely and their children are
not going to school? There are many possible hypotheses about the infant death decline.
One very clear change that has received publicity is that public health officials are bemoaning the sharp
decline in infant vaccinations as parents are not taking their infants into pediatric offices for their regular
well‐baby checks. In the May 15 issue of the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a
group of authors from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente reported a sharp decline in provider orders for
vaccines as well as a decline in pediatric vaccine doses administered. (8) These declines began in early
march, around the time infant deaths began declining.
Figure 19: Postnatal Infant
Causes of Death, 2017
(aged 1 month ‐ 1 year)
Cause IMR*
Congenital Malformation 0.32
SIDS 0.32
Accidents 0.31
Circulatory Complications 0.09
Homicide 0.07
*Infant Mortality Rate
(Deaths per 1000 live births)
Quoting: Figure 19:This effect may not be confined to the U.S. The World Health Organization issued a press release on May
22 noting that, “S
ince March 2020, routine childhood immunization services have been disrupted on a
global scale that may be unprecedented since the inception of expanded programs on immunization
(EPI) in the 1970s.” (9) Are fewer children dying because their parents are skipping their routine
childhood vaccines? If lives are being saved during the pandemic, this is a question that urgently needs
answering.
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