Politics
Newly obtained records contradict Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s testimony regarding 2019 Samoa trip
Documents reveal Kennedy asked Samoa's prime minister to study the nation's MMR vaccines prior to his visit, despite testifying that the trip was unrelated to vaccines.
The short version
- Newly obtained documents show U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote to Samoa's prime minister in 2019 requesting to study MMR vaccines prior to his visit.
- The findings contradict Kennedy's previous Senate confirmation testimony, where he stated his trip had nothing to do with vaccines.
- The 2019 correspondence followed the deaths of two Samoan children who had received the MMR vaccine.
Key facts
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told lawmakers during his confirmation hearings that his 2019 trip to Samoa had nothing to do with vaccines.[STAT]
- Documents obtained by The Associated Press and The Guardian show Kennedy wrote to Samoa's prime minister prior to his visit to request studying the country's measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines.[STAT]
- Kennedy's letter to the Samoan prime minister was prompted by the deaths of two children who had received the MMR vaccine.[STAT]
- The letter written by Kennedy contained the terms 'vaccine' or 'vaccination' eight times.[STAT]
What remains uncertain
- It remains unstated whether Kennedy or the Department of Health and Human Services has provided a response to the newly released documents.[STAT]