In December 2019, Hawaii’s Governor Josh Green, a physician and then-Lieutenant Governor, led a medical team to Samoa to help combat a deadly measles outbreak. The outbreak had already killed 83 people, mostly children, and was exacerbated by vaccine hesitancy fueled by misinformation. Green now blames Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic and President Trump’s nominee for health secretary, for spreading fear that led to low vaccination rates.
The crisis began in 2018 when a medical error resulted in two infant deaths after nurses mistakenly mixed the MMR vaccine with a muscle relaxant. This led to widespread distrust of vaccines, and Samoa’s prime minister, whose grandson has autism, suspended the national vaccination program. By 2019, only about one-third of the island’s 1-year-olds were vaccinated, down from 90% in 2013. As infections surged, Kennedy’s organisation, Children’s Health Defense, amplified fears and misinformation online.
Kennedy and his associate, Del Bigtree, used the vaccine-related deaths to push their anti-vaccine agenda. Kennedy visited Samoa in June 2019, meeting with local leaders and posing for photos with Edwin Tamasese, an anti-vaccine activist who was later arrested for spreading false information and promoting ineffective treatments. Kennedy later claimed he had not traveled to Samoa to discourage vaccinations.
By late 2019, the measles outbreak was spiraling out of control, with cases doubling weekly. In response, the Samoan government declared a national emergency, mandated MMR vaccinations, and shut down the country to facilitate immunisation efforts. Kennedy, however, continued questioning the cause of the outbreak, suggesting a defective vaccine rather than inadequate coverage.
Amid this crisis, Green coordinated a rapid-response mission, securing volunteers, donors, and 50,000 vaccine doses from UNICEF. His efforts helped curb the outbreak, but he now warns against Kennedy’s nomination, arguing that his misinformation contributed to preventable deaths. As Kennedy faces Senate confirmation hearings, Green is urging lawmakers to consider the consequences of his past actions on public health.
