Andrea Shaw, an Idaho mother, was indicted last month for the first-degree murders of her 18-month-old twins, Dallas and Tyson, who were found dead in their bed in Payette, Idaho, on May 1, 2025. Shaw has blamed the deaths on vaccines the twins received eight days prior to their passing.

Three days after the twins died, Shaw and her husband Nathaniel appeared in a video interview with Children’s Health Defense (CHD), an anti-vaccine group formerly led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who now serves as the US Department of Health and Human Services secretary. Despite limited information on the cause of death, CHD’s Polly Tommey repeatedly attributed the deaths to vaccines during the interview. The group also featured an article about the deaths as a top story on its website in 2025 and named Shaw as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Shaw’s mother-in-law, present at the twins’ vaccination appointment, stated in a court filing that she informed the nurse about previous adverse reactions to the flu shot in her family, but was reassured it was not a concern. The day after the vaccinations, Shaw took the twins to the emergency room, reporting severe symptoms including blue lips, lethargy, and sunken eyes, according to Shaw’s lawsuit against the American Academy of Pediatrics.

However, medical experts who reviewed the case details at the request of the Guardian strongly dispute the vaccine link. Dr. Jake Scott, a clinical infectious disease physician at Stanford specializing in vaccine science, said, “This was not a close call. I can say with confidence what didn’t happen here. It was not the vaccines.”

When questioned about CHD’s premature conclusion blaming vaccines before a cause of death was established, CHD CEO Mary Holland responded via email that the twins’ deaths followed “a typical pattern of an adverse reaction to pediatric vaccines.”

The case highlights ongoing tensions between anti-vaccine advocacy groups and medical professionals regarding vaccine safety and public health.

Sources