Local officials in Samoa don't blame Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's HHS pick, for measles deaths, but critics call his actions "harmful."
In 2018, improperly prepared vaccines — after nurses mixed doses with muscle relaxants instead of water — led to the deaths of two Samoan children. The incident sparked widespread mistrust in the vaccine program, including from Samoa’s prime minister, who suspended MMR immunizations altogether.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed back on Democrats’ allegations that he contributed to a measles outbreak in Samoa, saying vaccination rates were already low when he visited in 2019. “I went there nothing to do with vaccines,
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed back on questioning from Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) about his vaccine views. “I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages” for people to get those vaccines,
RFK Jr.'s testimony to senators clashed with past articles and letters he wrote concerning Samoan vaccine policy
In his second day of confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, refused to say that vaccines do not cause autism -- despite a large body of evidence showing there is no link.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made claims during his Senate confirmation hearing on issues including vaccines, pesticides and Lyme disease. Some of them are missing context.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced intense scrutiny Wednesday on Capitol Hill as he sought confirmation for the role of Health and Human Services secretary.
In one of the most tense exchanges in a heated confirmation hearing, Senator Angela Alsobrooks called out past comments RFK Jr. made suggesting a different vaccine schedule for Black people.
Past statements attributed to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. regarding vaccine safety were in focus Wednesday during his confirmation hearing to become the top health official in the United States.
Kennedy repeatedly refused to acknowledge scientific consensus that childhood vaccines don’t cause autism and that COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives