Key facts
- Newly obtained documents suggest Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have misled Congress about his 2019 trip to Samoa.
- Kennedy stated during confirmation hearings that the trip had "nothing to do with vaccines."
- Letters indicate Kennedy's intent was to study the MMR vaccine and its effects in Samoa.
- The Samoan prime minister welcomed the proposed assessment of MMR vaccines.
- Kennedy's visit preceded a measles outbreak in Samoa that resulted in 83 deaths.
- The Department of Health and Human Services denies Kennedy lied, calling such claims defamatory.
Newly obtained documents suggest that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US health secretary, may have misled Congress during his confirmation hearings last year. Kennedy had stated that his 2019 visit to Samoa was unrelated to vaccines, but letters obtained by The Guardian and the Associated Press indicate his intention was to study the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
In a letter to the Samoan prime minister, Kennedy expressed a desire to conduct a "detailed health informatics assessment" of the MMR vaccines used in the nation. He speculated that manufacturing issues or different vaccine lots could have been responsible for the deaths of two children after vaccination, an event that preceded a significant measles outbreak in Samoa.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has stated that Kennedy's visit was unrelated to vaccines and called any claims of him lying "false" and "defamatory." Kennedy himself insisted during his confirmation hearings that the trip's purpose was to introduce a medical informatics system to digitalize health records.
Kennedy previously chaired the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense (CHD), which had focused on the Samoa vaccine incident. The Samoan government had halted vaccinations for 10 months following the child deaths, leading to a sharp decline in vaccination rates. Kennedy's visit, which occurred during this period, has been criticized by public health experts for potentially emboldening anti-vaccine activists.
Despite the controversy, the Senate confirmed Kennedy's appointment by a 52-48 vote. Knowingly providing false testimony to Congress is a crime, though rarely prosecuted.