THIS is the kind of study that should make EVERY parent stop and ask questions.
Not panic.
Not automatically assume causation.
ASK QUESTIONS.
Researchers analyzed linked Louisiana Department of Health immunization and death records and compared vaccination during an infant's second month of life with mortality during the following month.
And what they reported deserves attention.
Among infants receiving all six vaccines examined at the 2-month visit, the researchers reported 68% HIGHER ODDS OF DEATH during the third month of life compared with infants who received none of those six vaccines during that window.
But here's the number that stopped me:
Among FEMALE infants, the reported odds were 112% HIGHER.
More than DOUBLE.
Now let me be extremely clear before somebody argues with something I didn't say:
AN ASSOCIATION DOES NOT, BY ITSELF, PROVE THAT THE VACCINES CAUSED THOSE DEATHS.
This was an observational analysis. There can be differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated infants that influence results, and those potential confounders need to be examined.
But that works BOTH ways.
“Doesn't prove causation” should mean: LET'S INVESTIGATE FURTHER.
It should NOT mean: STOP LOOKING.
These are babies.
If a dataset produces a statistically significant mortality signal following a routine medical intervention, I want scientists crawling ALL OVER IT.
Can independent researchers reproduce it?
What were the causes of death?
What differences existed between the groups?
Does the association remain after appropriate adjustment for those differences?
Is there a dose/timing relationship?
Do other states' linked immunization and mortality records show the same pattern?