Newly-obtained letter refutes RFK Jr’s claims to lawmakers about work trip

Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleNewly obtained records from 2019 reveal Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote to Samoa's prime minister proposing an assessment of the nation's MMR vaccines, contradicting statements he made during his Senate confirmation process where he repeatedly claimed his trip had nothing to do with vaccines.In the letter written on Children's Health Defense letterhead, Kennedy used the words vaccine or vaccination eight times. "I am writing this letter to you in the hope that we might be helpful to the people of your great nation," Kennedy wrote, suggesting the children's deaths could have stemmed from manufacturing problems. "I would propose my team conduct detailed health informatics assessment in Samoa of what happened with your MMR vaccines.”Public health experts contend that Kennedy's 2019 visit emboldened local anti-vaccine activists shortly before a devastating measles outbreak swept Samoa, infecting thousands and killing 83 people, primarily children under 5 years old.Kennedy was repeatedly questioned about the Samoa visit during his confirmation hearings. He told senators that his time in Samoa did not alter decisions by local residents on whether to vaccinate and on multiple occasions, he explicitly denied that vaccines were the reason for his trip.Approached about the 2019 letter, the Department of Health and Human Services defended Kennedy, stating, “Any claim or insinuation based on these letters that Secretary Kennedy lied under oath or to Congress is not only false but outright defamatory," the department said in a written statement. Providing knowingly false material testimony to Congress is a crime punishable by prison regardless of whether a witness is under oath, though prosecutions are rare.In fullRFK Jr told Congress a trip to Samoa had ‘nothing to do with vaccines.’ A letter from 2019 says otherwiseMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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