BBC

The World Health Organization and UNICEF estimated that Samoa’s measles vaccination rate for infants was just 31% in 2018. That’s down from about 60% to 70% in earlier years and a high of 90% in 2013. The drop may be partly explained by the tragic deaths of two infants in July 2018, according to the WHO. The infants died on the same day at the same hospital, shortly after they had each received what was supposed to be an MMR vaccine (which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella). But the organization did not correct the posts or update its audience with information regarding the nurses’ error and convictions.

Still, news of the heartbreaking deaths shook the island nation’s confidence in the healthcare system. And anti-vaccination groups pounced on the circumstances. Most notably, the deaths were picked up by the Children’s Health Defense, run by the prominent anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. As The Washington Post noted, Kennedy’s organization spent months highlighting the deaths on Facebook while questioning the safety of the MMR vaccines.

Notes

There is no mention here, nor anywhere in the article that the Samoan government suspended its vaccine program from July 2018 to April 2019. That’s how the drop in vaccination rates may be explained.

Other Stories that do not mention the MMR vaccine program suspension anywhere in the article:

• Ars Technica, 2019: Measles outbreak spurred by anti-vaxxers shuts down Samoan government
• The Guardian, 2019: 'There are no words': Samoa buries its children as measles outbreak worsens
• BBC, 2019: How a wrong injection helped cause Samoa's measles epidemic
• New York Times, 2019: Samoa Closes Schools as Measles Epidemic Kills at Least 16
• New York Times, 2024: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Views on Vaccination ‘Dangerous,’ Says His Ambassador Cousin

For more information and context

• Did RFK Jr cause a measles outbreak in Samoa?