Tragedy in Paradise | An Atlanta News First investigation

Measles cases in Georgia and the U.S. surged to levels in 2025 that haven’t been seen in three decades, fueled by declining childhood vaccinations and misinformation. Public health officials say the trend mirrors a tragedy that unfolded in 2019 on the island nation of Samoa, when false claims about vaccine safety helped trigger a deadly outbreak that killed 83 people, most of them children. Atlanta News First Investigates traveled to the south Pacific island nation to learn what happened and how Georgia and the U.S. can learn from it. Experts warn the U.S. is on a similar path, with vaccine skepticism growing, amplified by social media and mixed messages from the nation’s top health official, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.