BBC

Vaccination rates - meaning the number of young children covered - recently dropped to a low of only 31% in Samoa, compared to 99% in nearby Nauru, Niue, and Cook Islands.

In part, that low rate has been attributed to the deaths of two children.

In July 2018, two infants died in Samoa after receiving vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella, raising local fears over the vaccine itself.

But the deaths were later established to have been due to the nurses mixing the vaccine with an expired muscle relaxant, instead of water.

Notes

The most significant contributing factor to the vaccination rate dropping to as low as 30% in 2018 is the suspension of the measles vaccination program by the Samoan government from July 2018 to April 2019. The suspension is not mentioned anywhere in the article.

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?