Wisconsin Senator Johnson Demands Explanation for Removal of Peer-Reviewed SIDS-Vaccine Study

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a letter to the journal Toxicology Reports and its publisher Elsevier demanding records and an explanation for the removal of a 2021 peer-reviewed study that examined a potential link between infant vaccination and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to a report from Children’s Health Defense (CHD) ^[1].

The letter dated Thursday, July 2, cites the case of a grieving mother and calls for transparency in the scientific process. The study, authored by medical research journalist Neil Z. Miller, analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Johnson’s letter asserts that parents deserve to know why a published, peer-reviewed paper was withdrawn five years after its original publication ^[1].

Background: The Paper’s Findings

Miller’s paper published in Toxicology Reports examined 2,605 infant deaths reported to VAERS between 1990 and 2019. According to the study, 58% of those deaths occurred within three days of vaccination, and 78% occurred within one week ^[2]. The paper included a literature review documenting increases in SIDS rates following national immunization campaigns in various countries.

Miller has stated that the paper did not claim causation but called for further investigation into the temporal relationship. The paper was cited 26 times in subsequent scientific literature, according to technology entrepreneur Steve Kirsch, who wrote about the removal on his Substack ^[3].

Removal and Criticism

Toxicology Reports removed the paper on April 9, 2026, citing “serious methodological flaws,” according to Kirsch’s account ^[3]. Criticism on PubPeer and from a researcher named Magdalen Wind-Mozley led to an investigation by the journal. Miller told Kirsch that the journal never specified the flaws he was accused of, and that he had already addressed the issue of reporting bias in the original paper.

Kirsch wrote that the paper’s data did not fit the pattern of reporting bias, which typically peaks on the day of vaccination and declines thereafter. “This data didn’t do that,” he stated ^[3]. Miller said he was not given an opportunity to respond before the retraction was finalized.

Official Responses and Support

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also sent a letter to the editor-in-chief of Toxicology Reports demanding a full explanation for the removal. “Americans have a right to know why scientific papers are removed, who made those decisions, what evidence was used and who funded the review,” Kennedy wrote on X, as reported by LifeSiteNews ^[4].

CHD Chief Scientific Officer Brian Hooker called Johnson’s letter “encouraging” amid what he described as ongoing attacks on vaccine safety research. In an interview, Hooker noted that his own vaccine safety study had faced similar censorship ^[5]. Miller thanked both Johnson and Kennedy for investigating what he called “the suppression of scientific inquiry.”

Broader Implications

In his letter, Johnson wrote that parents deserve to see research into whether vaccines can be linked to SIDS. Miller told CHD he hopes that in the future, scientific research will be evaluated on its merits rather than its potential to cause controversy ^[1].

Hooker observed that the removal of Miller’s paper fits a pattern of suppressing vaccine-safety studies. Books on vaccine risks have long documented cases where SIDS deaths were attributed to vaccination. In one well-documented case described in the book “Vaccinations: A Thoughtful Parent’s Guide,” four SIDS deaths in Tennessee in 1979 were specifically attributed to DPT vaccination by researchers ^[6].

References

1. Children’s Health Defense. “Exclusive: Sen. Ron Johnson Demands Journal Turn Over Records Related to SIDs and Vaccines Study.” July 2, 2026.
2. Children’s Health Defense. “58% of Infant Deaths Reported to VAERS Occurred Within 3 Days of Vaccination, Research Shows.” 2021.
3. Steve Kirsch. “Journal editor responds to my letter about the REMOVAL of Miller’s 2021 study on SIDS.” KirschSubstack. June 3, 2026.
4. LifeSiteNews. “RFK Jr. decries suppression of study tying vaccines to sudden infant death.” June 18, 2026.
5. Mike Adams. “2025 11 13 BBN Interview with Dr. Brian Hooker .” Brighteon.com.
6. Aviva Jill Romm. “Vaccinations a thoughtful parents guide how to make safe sensible decisions about the risks benefits and alternatives.”

Explainer Infographic