Mother Jones on Instagram: "Our prospective leader of the HHS was connected to a deadly measles outbreak that occurred in Samoa in 2019—and championed a Samoan anti-vaxxer tied to this lethal eruption that killed scores of children.
In the years prior to 2019, measles had not been a problem in Samoa. But in 2018, two infants died after receiving the measles vaccine.
The country quickly placed its vaccine program on hold, as vaccine opponents exploited these deaths to raise questions about the safety of vaccines. But the problem, it turned out, was not with the vaccine. Two nurses had mistakenly mixed the vaccine with a muscle relaxant.
During this stretch, Kennedy visited the nation in June 2019 and gave a boost to anti-vaxxers there who had used the death of those two infants to help cause the drop in vaccination rates.
He also encouraged Samoa officials to examine the measles vaccine to “determine, scientifically, if the outbreak was caused by inadequate vaccine coverage or alternatively, by a defective vaccine," suggesting that the shot itself might be responsible for the thousands of cases and scores of deaths.
Kennedy may not have publicly urged Samoans to refuse the measles vaccine. But he encouraged those who did, and the group he led helped spread misinformation to discredit vaccinations there.
After the tragedy was over, he dismissed the outbreak as not serious and extolled the anti-vaxxers who helped bring it about. The Samoa chapter provides a clear case study of how Kennedy threatens public health and slyly sidesteps responsibility for that.
You can check out @davidcorn1's report at the link in our bio.
📸: Mother Jones; Michael Brochstein/ZUMA; Cynthia S. Goldsmith/CDC"
546 likes, 15 comments - motherjonesmag on November 25, 2024: "Our prospective leader of the HHS was connected to a deadly measles outbreak that occurred in Samoa in 2019—and championed a Samoan anti-vaxxer tied to this lethal eruption that killed scores of children.
In the years prior to 2019, measles had not been a problem in Samoa. But in 2018, two infants died after receiving the measles vaccine.
The country quickly placed its vaccine program on hold, as vaccine opponents exploited these deaths to raise questions about the safety of vaccines. But the problem, it turned out, was not with the vaccine. Two nurses had mistakenly mixed the vaccine with a muscle relaxant.
During this stretch, Kennedy visited the nation in June 2019 and gave a boost to anti-vaxxers there who had used the death of those two infants to help cause the drop in vaccination rates.
He also encouraged Samoa officials to examine the measles vaccine to “determine, scientifically, if the outbreak was caused by inadequate vaccine coverage or alternatively, by a defective vaccine," suggesting that the shot itself might be responsible for the thousands of cases and scores of deaths.
Kennedy may not have publicly urged Samoans to refuse the measles vaccine. But he encouraged those who did, and the group he led helped spread misinformation to discredit vaccinations there.
After the tragedy was over, he dismissed the outbreak as not serious and extolled the anti-vaxxers who helped bring it about. The Samoa chapter provides a clear case study of how Kennedy threatens public health and slyly sidesteps responsibility for that.
You can check out @davidcorn1's report at the link in our bio.
📸: Mother Jones; Michael Brochstein/ZUMA; Cynthia S. Goldsmith/CDC".
