A 2019 measles outbreak that killed 83 people in Samoa around the time Kennedy visited the country was a key sticking point in the official’s confirmation hearing.
Kennedy’s trip was organized by an anti-vaccine influencer, and an anti-vaccine advocate later said he got advice from individuals assembled by Kennedy during the trip to encourage alternative treatments.
Kennedy told the Senate his visit to the island was unrelated to vaccines and instead about promoting improvements to local health informatics, and that, “My words had nothing to do with vaccine uptake in Samoa or with the 2019 epidemic.”.
Kennedy’s alleged ties to measles outbreak in Samoa were major feature of his confirmation hearing.
He described those hospitalized as part of the outbreak centered near Gaines County as “mainly for quarantine,” though a local official said otherwise.
