Hurricane-prone states The day in pictures Get the USA TODAY app Start the day smarter ☀️ U.S. Elections Sports Entertainment Life Money Tech Travel Opinion ONLY AT USA TODAY: Newsletters For Subscribers From the Archives Crossword eNewspaper Magazines Investigations Podcasts Video Humankind Just Curious Best-selling Booklist 24/7 Live Stream Legals OUR PORTFOLIO: 10Best USAT Wine Club Online Sports Betting Online Casino Reviewed Homefront Blueprint Southern Kitchen Best Auto Insurance Best Pet Insurance Best Travel Insurance Best Credit Cards Best CD Rates Best Personal Loans Home Internet FACT CHECK Sudden infant death syndrome Add Topic # Fact check: SIDS rates increased as vaccinations dropped in 2020, contrary to online claims ![\\"Portrait](\\"/gcdn/authoring/authoring- images/2023/11/29/USAT/71739954007-hudnall.jpg?crop=1664,1665,x0,y161&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp\\") Hannah Hudnall USA TODAY ![\\"\\"](\\"/gcdn/-mm-/b2b05a4ab25f4fca0316459e1c7404c537a89702/c=0-0-1365-768/local/-/media/2022/08/15/USATODAY/usatsports/imageForEntry11-5Ql.jpg?width=660&height=371&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\\"/) PlayPause Sound OnSound Off 0:00 1:45 AD SKIP ClosedCaptionOpen ShareEnter Full ScreenExit Full Screen ## The claim: SIDS almost disappeared in 2020 when babies stopped receiving normally scheduled vaccines Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, is the sudden, unexplained death of infants under the age of 1, according to the Mayo Clinic. Though researchers do not know what causes the syndrome, some social media users claim they\'ve discovered a new link. \"Did you know that during the lockdowns of 2020 millions of babies missed their \'well baby checkups\' which meant they didn\'t get their scheduled v a c c i n e s,\" reads a tweet shared in an Aug. 15 Instagram post. \"Did you know that same year Sudden Infant Death Syndrome became nearly non-existent?\" The post garnered more than 800 likes in its first six hours. The original July 23 tweet garnered more than 300 likes in three weeks. But this claim is baseless. Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks Though childhood vaccinations fell in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, SIDS did not drop off sharply. To the contrary, the rate of SIDS cases per 100,000 live births increased, according to experts. USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment. ## SIDS rate increased in 2020 The claim that childhood vaccination rates decreased in 2020 is correct. Between March and September of 2020, infant, childhood and adolescent vaccination rates dropped, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics, a peer- reviewed medical journal. For example, the routine vaccination rate of infants turning 7 months old dropped from 81% in September 2019 to 74% in September 2020. Even after stay-at-home orders relaxed and standard medical care resumed, pediatric visits and routine vaccination rates were still down. The CDC reported that the vaccination rate of kindergarteners dropped by 1% from 2019 to 2020. Fact check: New study found \'potential biomarker\' of SIDS, but calling it a cause misrepresents findings But SIDS did not disappear in 2020. From 2019 to 2020, the rate of SIDS deaths per 100,000 live births increased from 33.3 to 38.4, according to the CDC. This was the first increase recorded in several years. Though the SIDS rate has dropped dramatically from 130.27 per 100,000 live births in 1990, the syndrome is the leading cause of death among infants between the ages of 1 month and 1 year in the U.S. Various research studies have analyzed possible links between vaccines and SIDS, but none of the evidence shows \"any links between childhood immunization and SIDS,\" according to the CDC. ## Our rating: False Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that SIDS almost disappeared in 2020 when babies stopped receiving normally scheduled vaccines. Though routine childhood vaccination rates fell in 2020, the CDC reported the rate of SIDS cases per 100,000 live births increased. ## Our fact-check sources: * The Mayo Clinic, May 20, Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) * JAMA Pediatrics, Oct. 7, 2021, Association of the COVID-19 Pandemic With Routine Childhood Vaccination Rates and Proportion Up to Date With Vaccinations Across 8 US Health Systems in the Vaccine Safety Datalink * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Apr. 22, Vaccination Coverage with Selected Vaccines and Exemption Rates Among Children in Kindergarten — United States, 2020–21 School Year * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, June 21, Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Aug. 14, 2020, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Vaccines Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. 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SIDS almost disappeared in 2020 when baby vaccination rates dropped