RFK Jr. Presses Journal Over Removed Vaccine-SIDS Paper, Seeking Answers by June 25
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 15
RFK Jr. Presses Journal Over Removed Vaccine-SIDS Paper, Seeking Answers by June 25
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 15
Summary
Kennedy posted a letter Monday demanding that Toxicology Reports explain by June 25 why it removed a paper linking vaccines to sudden infant death syndrome.
Elsevier said the paper was pulled this spring after an investigation found serious methodological flaws and warned its conclusions could endanger public health if applied in clinical practice.
Critics said Kennedy was using his position as US health secretary to pressure a private journal’s editorial process, with vaccine-law expert Dorit Reiss calling it close to bullying protected speech.
The 2021 paper by Neil Z. Miller relied on VAERS reports to argue vaccines showed signals of a causal SIDS link, a method scientists said badly misused a database that accepts unverified submissions.
The dispute widens scrutiny of vaccine research Kennedy and allies have cited to support federal policy changes, even as one of those papers has now been formally removed.