Hawaii Gov: RFK Jr.'s Anti-Vax Misinformation Left Dozens Of Kids Dead In Samoa

The Senate is poised to make “an absolute life-or-death decision” in confirming Kennedy as HHS secretary, warned Gov. Josh Green, who is also a physician.

WASHINGTON — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) on Wednesday warned senators not to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next health and human services secretary, sharing a dark story about Kennedy fueling an anti-vaccine misinformation campaign that Green said led to dozens of children dying in Samoa amid a measles outbreak.

“This is an absolute life-or-death decision that the Senate … and frankly the incoming president is poised to make over our future,” Green, who is also a physician, said at a Capitol Hill press conference with other lawmakers who are medical professionals.

The governor traveled to Washington this week specifically to meet with Republican and Democratic senators to urge them to oppose Kennedy’s nomination — the same week Kennedy is on Capitol Hill making his case to Democratic senators about why they should support him.

Green is hoping to take partisanship out of Kennedy’s nomination and get senators in both major political parties focused on the necessity of having a public health professional leading the country’s top health agency.

He’s offering his perspective on a well-known “tragedy” that took place in Samoa in 2019, after two children died due to human error on the part of nurses administering their vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella. The mistake led to some people losing confidence in vaccines, and right around this time, Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccination activist, visited the Pacific island state and campaigned against vaccines on social media.