{
  "id": 3743849,
  "title": "RFK told Congress he didn’t go to Samoa in 2019 to study measles vaccines — so why does his old letter mention it eight times?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/rfk-told-congress-he-didnt-go-to-samoa-in-2019-to-study-measles",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-27T13:04:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/08/27/rfk-samoa-vaccines-measles/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before Congress that a 2019 visit to Samoa before a measles outbreak had nothing to do with vaccines. However, new documents reveal that Kennedy's 2019 letter to the Samoan prime minister explicitly requested a study of the Pacific island nation's measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, mentioning vaccines or vaccinations eight times. This discrepancy raises questions about the accuracy of Kennedy's testimony to Congress. During the confirmation process, Kennedy pledged to maintain vaccine policies, but once in office, he changed them. HHS stated that the Samoa visit was unrelated to vaccines, calling any claim of Kennedy lying under oath or to Congress false and defamatory. The Samoa visit has been a contentious issue in Kennedy's career, as critics claim it encouraged anti-vaccine activism in Samoa, leading to an outbreak that killed 83 people, mostly children under 5.",
  "summary": "The discrepancy could prompt congressional action, but legal experts consider that unlikely under the Republican-led Congress",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Exclusive: RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/exclusive-rfk-jr-said-a-samoa-trip-had-nothing-to-do-with-vaccines",
        "published": "2026-08-27T12:01:19.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Associated Press",
        "title": "Exclusive: RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/exclusive-rfk-jr-said-a-samoa-trip-had-nothing-to-do-with-vaccines-3735335",
        "published": "2026-08-27T12:23:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "STAT News",
        "title": "RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/rfk-jr-said-a-samoa-trip-had-nothing-to-do-with-vaccines-new",
        "published": "2026-08-27T13:16:38.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PBS NewsHour Health",
        "title": "AP report: RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/ap-report-rfk-jr-said-a-samoa-trip-had-nothing-to-do-with-vaccines",
        "published": "2026-08-27T13:47:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MedPage Today",
        "title": "RFK Jr. Said Samoa Trip Had Nothing to Do With Vaccines. New Documents Refute That.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/rfk-jr-said-samoa-trip-had-nothing-to-do-with-vaccines-new-documents",
        "published": "2026-08-27T15:05:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}