Study Finds More MMR/MMRV Death Reports Than Deaths from Measles

A new study has found a significant number of deaths among infants and toddlers within days of receiving MMR/MMRV combination vaccines, particularly after the routine first-dose at 12 to 15 months, with reported deaths exceeding documented measles fatalities in the United States.¹

The preprint, which examined Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) death reports, identified 299 deaths following Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) or Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella (chickenpox) (MMRV) vaccination, with over 50 percent occurring within 14 days of administration and clustered around the routine 12–15 month dose. The study authors, who characterize the pattern as a potential safety signal about mortality, highlighted that reported vaccine-associated deaths greatly outnumber confirmed measles deaths in the post-1995 era, the period where wild type measles was reported to have been eliminated in the U.S.¹

The timing of the study co-authored by nine researchers coincides with renewed national focus on measles outbreaks, even though measles deaths in the U.S. have remained rare since public health officials announced measles had disappeared from the U.S. in 2000. Measles deaths have been infrequent and typically occur when there are severe complications, which are seen more frequently in individuals who have underlying poor health conditions. Despite mainstream media outlets promoting fear about how deadly measles is, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, there have been no confirmed measles deaths reported in 2026 and three reported deaths in 2025.²

In a Substack analysis, epidemiologist and study co-author Nicolas Hulscher, MPH characterizes many of the reported deaths as involving “deterioration following vaccination”—language that echoes descriptions frequently used in sudden infant death (SIDS) cases occurring during the same age window as routine immunizations. He writes:

Most fatalities appeared to involve acute deterioration following vaccination, with manifestations including fever, seizures, and cardiac arrest at home, frequently culminating in classification as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A small proportion survived hospitalization but were unable to be resuscitated.^{1 3}

Sudden Infant Deaths Increased 12 Percent Between 2020-2022

SIDS is the unexplained death of an otherwise healthy infant, typically occurring in babies under one year old. Also known as “crib death,” since the condition occurs during sleep, SIDS falls under the broader category of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) but remains unexplained despite decades of extensive research, including autopsies, death scene investigations, and medical history reviews.

The preprint follows a January 2025 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which found that rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) increased 12 percent between 2020-2022. Elizabeth Wolf, MD, associate professor of pediatrics with Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, called the study findings “pretty alarming,” urging the public health community to “do everything we can to try and reduce the risk factors as much as possible.”^{4 5}

VAERS Data Show Many Reported Infant Deaths Occur Within One Week of Vaccination

Newborns commonly receive an initial hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, followed by additional routine vaccinations beginning at two months of age, according to the CDC’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule that has been followed by most pediatricians for decades. Although experts say more research is warranted to determine the cause of increasing reports of SIDS deaths in recent years, a review of data from VAERS indicates that a significant number of infant deaths occurred within a week of vaccination.⁶

A 2021 peer-reviewed study by medical researcher Neil Z. Miller analyzed VAERS data to examine when reported infant deaths occurred following vaccination. The study found that 58 percent of reported infant deaths occurred within three days of vaccination and 78.3 percent occurred within seven days. The author concluded: “While the findings in this paper are not proof of an association between infant vaccines and infant deaths, they are highly suggestive of a causal relationship.”⁶

Young Children No Longer Advised to Receive MMR-Varicella Combination

The MMRV vaccine, a focal point of the study, has faced renewed scrutiny in recent months after the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted in September 2025 to stop recommending the combination MMRV vaccine for children under age four, citing an elevated risk of fever-related seizures compared with administering MMR and varicella separately.⁷

Post-vaccination febrile seizure concerns, which are widely documented and acknowledged by the CDC and medical community, have also led regulators to require updated warning language for certain vaccines, including some influenza formulations, to reflect the potential risk of febrile seizures.⁷

While these seizures are generally classified as benign and do not typically result in long-term neurological harm, their documented occurrence has played a role in ongoing evaluations of vaccine scheduling and combination products. Other experts, however, say the narrative that febrile seizures are “harmless” oversimplifies the issue, and, according to emerging research, can carry mild to serious neurological risks that may not become apparent until years later.⁷

Study Results “Demand Rigorous, Transparent, and Fully Independent Evaluation”

Hulscher says of the 2026 preprint findings, “Taken together, these findings cannot be brushed aside as coincidence or statistical noise. The clustering across age, timing, vaccination context, and recurring clinical presentations forms a coherent and internally consistent signal of death within the federal reporting system itself.”³

As the study concludes: “The magnitude, concentration, and temporal proximity of these reports demand rigorous, transparent, and fully independent evaluation. Future research should prioritize active surveillance cohort studies, detailed autopsies with virologic testing, and record-linked datasets capable of assessing background mortality and determining causal relationships.”^{1 3}

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