Ask Robert Kennedy Jr. about Samoa!
Robert Kennedy, Jr. (no relation to myself), who is running for president as an independent, is going to announce his VP pick tomorrow Tuesday 3/26.
I have come to know Mr. Kennedy through my experience interviewing him for SHOT IN THE ARM (SITA). From what I have learned from firsthand experience with RFK jr, I agree with most of his family members who have publicly said that they “denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country.”
Starting yesterday with an intro clip and continuing today and the rest of the week, we are sharing some RFK scenes from SITA, followed by a powerful sequence on Samoa split into five parts, one a day. The Samoa sequence takes place between 2018 and 2019, where Robert Kennedy Jr. plays a significant role in how this small island responded to a vaccine mistake and a measles outbreak. Please share far and wide and get more people asking RFK jr: what happened in Samoa?
And, the bigger picture, this is part of building hype for an online screening and q/a event with Neil and me in May for World Vaccine Day. So trying to get more people following and sharing my stuff!
On July 9th, 2018, two babies were given the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine at a hospital in Samoa, but, shockingly, within an hour, they both died. We would find out later that two nurses mistakenly mixed muscle relaxants instead of saline water into the vaccines. But immediately following the tragedy, the prime minister stopped all vaccines on the island, and prominent anti-vaxxers like Kennedy began to share and spread scary posts around this incomplete story. Kennedy even visited Samoa and met the Prime Minister with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines. (Small aside: maybe Cheryl will consider including SITA on her documentary podcast True Story co-hosted with Tig Nataro?)
Then in the fall of 2019, after almost a year of no vaccines on the island, the inevitable happened: a measles outbreak started in Samoa. After decades of almost no measles cases, in 2019 Samoa ended up with 5,707 cases, and 83 deaths, mostly children.
The sequence comes at the midpoint of the film, after Kennedy has introduced himself with this interchange with me: “I am not anti-vaccine, I've never been anti-vaccine.” Me “So are there any vaccines in history that you would say were a benefit to mankind?” He pauses and says: “Um…I don't know the answer to that.” He is not even ‘pro’ the polio vaccine.
The Samoa sequence begins with me: “Samoa 2018, two babies were given the MMR. Can you tell us your version of that story?” Kennedy: “I don't remember well enough what happened… I know that there were a number of children who were…” Pausing before pivoting to what turns out to be a strange piece of foreshadowing: “I didn't go to Samoa, by the way, for anything to do with that issue…”
Kennedy: “I'm aware, there was a measles outbreak but I didn't have anything - you know - I have nothing to do with, with people not vaccinating in Samoa. I never told anybody not to vaccinate. I didn't go there for any reason to do with that.”
From there we cut to a 2019 Samoan news story revealing that during his visit Kennedy met and took pictures with two top local anti vaccine activists, who proudly displayed their photos with Kennedy on their social media.
Later, as the cases and death toll was rising, Kennedy sent a letter to the prime minister where he began by sharing his condolences, but quickly pivoted to suggesting - with no evidence - that the outbreaks might not be caused by inadequate vaccine coverage, but instead caused by “a defective vaccine.” When in fact all evidence points to Samoa's measles outbreak happening because of a decline in vaccination rates, and the outbreak only came to an end when, in a significant change of heart, the Prime Minister publicly received the MMR vaccine and reinstated MMR across the country.
The sequence does end on a positive note: the parents of the children who died from the vaccine mistake in 2018 requested to speak on TV to help counter fears around the MMR, asking all Samoans to please get their measles vaccine. These parents, who could have easily become cynical and vengeful, did the opposite. They did what was best not just for themselves but for the entirety of Samoa. And yes, for those of you sharp readers who are walking the story ahead to Covid, these parents actions were a darkly ironic ‘what could have been’ warning for the U.S. and what happened around Covid vaccines. Here we saw too many in the United States choose disinformation over decency in choosing to not take the Covid-19 vaccines. Leading to heartbreaking statistics like: while the U.S. is only 4.25% of the population of the world we have had over 20% of the deaths from Covid… just dumbfounding, especially when considering we had such early and complete access to the vaccines.
So, while this Samoa scene ends with some hope for our human condition, I ask you to watch it and ask yourself if you want Robert Kennedy Jr. to have any position of power or influence in our democracy?
But at it’s core SHOT IN THE ARM is not about Kennedy. It is about healing. Healing for all who, despite being scared, and confused, and frustrated, tried to stick to our fragile social contract. SHOT IN THE ARM says to those folks: we see you and it was worth it. Science is worth it. The verifiable truth is worth it. Our social contract is worth it. And while none of it went perfectly, this experience with Covid-19 is a reminder that we all do better when we remember we are in this together.
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