Documents Undercut RFK Jr.'s Samoa Testimony on 2019 Vaccine Trip

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 27

A Jan. 20, 2019 letter shows Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked Samoa's prime minister to let his team assess the country's MMR vaccines, contradicting his confirmation-hearing claim that the trip had "nothing to do with vaccines."
The newly obtained document uses "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times and proposes a "detailed health informatics assessment" after two children died from improperly prepared shots.
Kennedy repeated the denial to Sens. Ron Wyden and Edward Markey during his 2025 confirmation push, then won Senate approval 52-48 after giving vaccine-policy assurances to key Republicans including Bill Cassidy.
HHS said the Samoa visit was unrelated to vaccines and called any suggestion Kennedy lied to Congress defamatory, though legal experts said lawmakers could still cite the statements in hearings or other proceedings.
The trip remains central to criticism of Kennedy because Samoa's vaccination pause helped drive rates down before a measles outbreak killed 83 people, mostly children under 5.