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New Documents Challenge RFK Jr.'s Account of Samoa Visit and Vaccines
Newly obtained letters show Kennedy sought to study Samoa’s MMR vaccines and used vaccine language eight times, contradicting his congressional testimony.
- New documents obtained by The Associated Press and The Guardian refute testimony from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who told Congress his 2019 Samoa visit had "nothing to do with vaccines" despite letters showing he sought to study MMR vaccines.
- In a January 20, 2019, letter to then-Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Kennedy expressed a desire to study Samoa's MMR vaccines, suggesting his team investigate whether the deaths of two children stemmed from manufacturing issues.
- Critics argue the visit emboldened anti-vaccine activists in Samoa, which subsequently experienced a measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children under 5. The Samoan government halted all vaccinations for 10 months following the crisis.
- Sen. Cassidy, who voted to confirm Kennedy on a 52-48 vote, said his trust was broken after Kennedy ousted all 17 members of the federal vaccine advisory committee. "The commitments that were made to me have been violated," Cassidy said on CBS's Face the Nation.
- The Department of Health and Human Services maintained the visit "was unrelated to vaccines," labeling claims that Secretary Kennedy lied to Congress as "not only false but outright defamatory" in a written statement.
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31 Articles
31 Articles
Associated Press News+30 Reposted by 30 other sources
RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that
The Associated Press and The Guardian have obtained documents that contradict statements made by current Health Secretary Robert F.
·New York, United States
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Total News Sources31
Leaning Left15Leaning Right2Center14Last UpdatedBias Distribution48% Left
Bias Distribution
- 48% of the sources lean Left
48% Left
L 48%
C 45%
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