Foreword by Hawaii Governor Josh Green
Read the Report Here.
Washington, D.C. — Today, Protect Our Care is releasing a new national report with a foreword from Hawaii Governor Josh Green. The report details Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s role in the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa and the danger he poses to the health and well-being of millions of Americans if confirmed as the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 2019, RFK Jr. visited the island nation of Samoa to spread anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, which led to the deaths of 83 people, primarily infants and children. To this day, he refuses to take responsibility and continues to oppose lifesaving vaccines, saying he “does not believe that infectious disease is an enormous threat to human health.”
RFK Jr. is unqualified and holds dangerous anti-science and anti-vaccination policy positions, ready to put his personal interests ahead of the health and safety of the American people. Under his leadership, more people will get sick and die – especially children.
“As a firsthand witness of the tragedy in Samoa, I am certain that the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be devastating for the health of the American people,” said Hawaii Governor Josh Green. “Vaccine misinformation is deadly, period. For years, Kennedy has fueled misinformation and conspiracy theories about vaccinations and other public health measures that keep people safe. He is unfit to lead our nation’s health care system.”
“What RFK Jr. did to Samoa he will do to America. RFK Jr. poses a life-or-death threat to millions of Americans if confirmed as HHS Secretary,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “RFK Jr. has said that ‘no vaccine is safe and effective.’ His opposition to vaccines will lead to a resurgence of deadly childhood diseases like polio and measles. He supports defunding lifesaving research that is used to develop treatments and cures for diseases. RFK Jr. rejects proven science that keeps people healthy and if he is put in a position like HHS secretary, the damage would be catastrophic.”
2018
- Two children in Samoa died after receiving their MMR vaccine as a result of nurses improperly mixing the vaccines with a liquid muscle relaxant instead of water. The nurses were sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter.
- RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense posted on Facebook questioning the safety of measles vaccines.
- The World Health Organization estimated that in 2018, only 31 percent of infants in Samoa received the measles vaccine, a drop from 60 to 70 percent in previous years.
- RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense never updated the public about the true cause of the babies’ deaths.
2019
- While vaccination rates were dropping, Kennedy traveled to Samoa in June 2019, meeting with the Prime Minister and other government officials. The trip had been arranged by a prominent Samoan anti-vaccine activist, and paid for by Children’s Health Defense. RFK Jr. appeared with government officials and local anti-vaccine activists.
- The measles outbreak began in September 2019.
- A state of emergency was declared in November 2019, closing all schools, keeping children under 17 away from public events, and mandating vaccines.
- The anti-vaccine activists with ties to Kennedy used misinformation and harsh rhetoric to oppose the government’s efforts in containing the outbreak.
- By January 22, 2020, 5,707 measles cases and 83 measles-related deaths were reported. 87 percent of the reported deaths were children younger than 5 years.