Viera Scheibner - Views On The Subject of Vaccines - SIDS

SIDS

Scheibner claims that while developing “Cotwatch” (an infant breathing monitor) with her late husband, she discovered a “stress-induced breathing pattern” and hypopnea was occurring around the time of infant DPT vaccination. She claimed that this was proof of a causal link between vaccination and SIDS. She further claimed that when she brought this information to the attention of the medical community, that paediatricians at the “Australian Crib Death Management Center” ceased referring parents to her to obtain a Cotwatch monitor. However, Australia does not use the term “Crib” or the spelling “Center”, and there is no record of such a centre or organisation ever existing.

Scheibner began making public statements of a link between vaccination and SIDS in the early 1990s, and in a book “Vaccination” published in 1993. In the book and subsequently, she has claimed that “vaccination is the single biggest cause of SIDS”. However data shows that since she began making her claims, vaccination rates for Birth to 2-years component of the Immunisation Schedule in Australia increased from 53% in 1990 to 92% in 2006, while SIDS deaths fell by 81% over the same period.

Scheibner claimed that when Japan paused their Pertussis vaccination program in 1974, SIDS deaths disappeared in the country. However, Dr Stephen Basser refuted the claim, asserting that the studies Scheibner cited did not support her statements and that she had omitted information which did not support her position, including data showing Japanese Pertussis mortality increased 800% in the five years following the pause in Pertussis vaccination.

Since Scheibner’s claims were made, extensive scientific studies have found vaccination is in fact associated with a halving of the risk of SIDS.