KENNEDY-MEASLES-SAMOA — Documents. These AP digital embed documents show correspondence between Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Samoa's then-prime minister in 2019. The documents obtained by The Associated Press and The Guardian contradict statements made by Kennedy, now the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, during two congressional hearings in 2025. He told senators that a trip he took to Samoa in 2019 had “nothing to do with vaccines.” The new documents show he wrote the then-prime minister saying he wanted his team to study what happened with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the Pacific island nation. The letter raises questions about how truthful Kennedy was in testimony before Congress. Kennedy’s department says the Samoa visit was “unrelated to vaccines.” Source: U.S. Department of State.

Kennedy letter to Samoa's prime minister

Kennedy, founder of Children's Health Defense, writes the prime minister of Samoa in 2019 about deaths “associated recently with MMR vaccine” and asks if a team from his organization can conduct a “detailed health informatics assessment” of what happened.

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Samoan PM's response

Samoa's prime minister responds to Kennedy's letter, granting permission for the visit to Samoa and offering some history of the island chain.

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