AP report: RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that

Key Points:

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for anti-vaccine activism, wrote to Samoa's prime minister proposing a health informatics assessment of the MMR vaccine after two children died from a tainted batch, suggesting manufacturing issues might be to blame.
• During his Senate confirmation hearings as Health Secretary, Kennedy repeatedly denied that his Samoa trip was related to vaccines, stating the visit was to introduce a medical informatics system, though critics argue the trip emboldened anti-vaccine activists amid a deadly measles outbreak.
• Despite concerns and broken commitments regarding vaccine policies, Kennedy was confirmed by a narrow Senate vote, with some lawmakers accusing him of misleading Congress about the vaccine-related nature of his Samoa visit.
• The Samoan government initially halted vaccinations for 10 months after the deaths, leading to plummeting vaccination rates and a subsequent measles outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly young children, with public health efforts hampered by anti-vaccine activism linked to Kennedy's visit.
• The Department of Health and Human Services denied that Kennedy's Samoa visit was vaccine-related and rejected claims that he lied under oath, while key officials and the Samoan government have not commented on the controversy surrounding the trip.