Letter Clarifies RFK Jr.'s Vaccine-Free Samoa Trip By Mentioning Vaccines Eight Times

NEW YORK—A newly obtained letter has placed eight references to vaccines inside Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 2019 trip to Samoa, which he repeatedly told senators had nothing to do with vaccines.

Kennedy sent the letter to Samoa’s prime minister before traveling there. It proposed that his team conduct a health data assessment of the country’s measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines after two children died following incorrectly prepared injections. The words “vaccine” or “vaccination” appeared eight times, a level of repetition that remained insufficient to make vaccines the subject of the visit.

Kennedy gave his account during two congressional confirmation hearings as skeptical senators considered whether to put him in charge of federal health policy. He also reassured lawmakers that he supported childhood vaccination and pledged continuity for a federal vaccine advisory committee. The Senate confirmed him 52-48, after which his department changed vaccine guidance and replaced the committee’s membership.

The Department of Health and Human Services said the Samoa visit was unrelated to vaccines and called any suggestion that Kennedy lied to Congress false and defamatory. The department did not make him available for an interview. Its explanation allows the letter to precede the trip, propose work during the trip, and concern the trip without becoming related to it.

The documents establish a useful standard for public health records. A subject may appear throughout the correspondence, organize the proposed work, and occupy the congressional questions while remaining officially absent from the purpose.