Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Aug 27, 2026, 09:00am EDTAug 27, 2026, 09:12am EDTToplineA newly published letter sent from health and human services secretary Robert F. Kennedy to the prime minister of Samoa before his ill-fated trip to the nation in 2019 shows he did intend to meddle in the country's use of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, despite telling Congress during congressional hearings last year the visit had “nothing to do with vaccines."Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during his confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Jan. 29, 2025 in Washington, DC.Getty ImagesKey FactsThe trip, one of RFK Jr.’s most well-known controversies, has been linked to a measles outbreak that sickened more than 5,700 people and killed 83 in the span of three and a half months and Kennedy has been accused of bolstering Samoa’s anti-vaccine activists at the time. He repeatedly testified under oath during confirmation hearings that his trip was unrelated to vaccines, but the new letter explicitly states he wanted to study the use of the MMR vaccine in the Pacific island nation and uses the words “vaccine” or “vaccination” eight times.This is a developing story and will be updated. LOADING VIDEO PLAYER...FORBES’ FEATURED VideoExplore Topic