WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Samoa’s top health official on Monday denounced as “a complete lie” remarks that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made during his bid to become U.S. health secretary, rejecting his claim that some who died in the country's 2019 measles epidemic didn't have the disease.

Senators grilled Trump's health secretary pick over his 2019 Samoa trip, accusing him of downplaying his role in the epidemic.

In 2018, improperly prepared vaccines — after nurses mixed doses with muscle relaxants instead of water — led to the deaths of two Samoan children. The incident sparked widespread mistrust in the vaccine program, including from Samoa’s prime minister, who suspended MMR immunizations altogether.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick for health secretary, sought to use Samoa’s measles vaccine pause as a "natural experiment" months before a deadly outbreak.

RFK Jr.'s testimony to senators clashed with past articles and letters he wrote concerning Samoan vaccine policy

Hawaii Governor Josh Green had a scathing rebuttal to claims made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s during his confirmation hearing Wednesday regarding a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa. “He’s a liar, and it’s bulls--t,

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed back on Democrats’ allegations that he contributed to a measles outbreak in Samoa, saying vaccination rates were already low when he visited in 2019. “I went there nothing to do with vaccines,