In 2019, a devastating measles outbreak erupted in Samoa. Eighty-three people, most of them children, died. Another 5,000 contracted the disease, many of which suffer long-term damage as a result. In total, around 3% of the small island’s population fell ill.

During his confirmation hearing, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. denied Gov. Josh Green’s allegation that he caused many deaths in Samoa by discouraging the measles vaccine.