MISLEADING CLAIMS
FactCheck.org
Kennedy also played a part in one of the worst measles outbreaks in recent memory. In 2018, two infants in American Samoa died when nurses accidentally prepared the combined measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine with expired muscle relaxant rather than water. The Samoan government temporarily suspended the vaccination program, and anti-vaccine advocates — including Kennedy and his nonprofit — flooded the area with misinformation. The vaccination rate dropped to a dangerously low level.
Notes
The author implies that RFK Jr. and Children’s Health Defense were responsible for the drop in vaccination rates. However, the “temporary” suspension of the MMR vaccination program lasted for nine months, between July 2018 and April 2019, which was responsible for the decline in vaccine coverage. The “dangerously low level” cited is 31%, the estimated coverage in 2018. Since the suspension of the vaccine program coincided with the infant deaths, no matter how much “misinformation” RFK Jr., CHD, and other “anti-vaccine advocates” could ‘flood the area with,’ they were powerless over influencing the vaccination rates in 2018.
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