RFK Jr. slammed by Samoa’s top health official over measles remarks
On Monday, Samoa’s top health official condemned statements made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his confirmation hearings for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, calling them “a complete lie.”
The official refuted Kennedy’s claim that some individuals who died during the country’s 2019 measles epidemic did not actually have the disease.
“We don’t know what was killing them,” Kennedy said during U.S. Senate hearings last week, suggesting that the cause of the 83 deaths — mostly of children under age 5 — was unclear.
“It’s a total fabrication,” Samoa Director-General of Health Dr. Alec Ekeroma told The Associated Press of Kennedy’s comments.
U.S. senators grilled President Donald Trump‘s HHS pick last week over his 2019 Samoa trip, accusing him of downplaying his role in the epidemic.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
More to follow.