Robert Kennedy Jr. to show vaccine film in Salem tonight

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has invited Oregon senators to a private screening of a documentary about a mercury-containing preservative in some vaccines on Thursday in Salem. He plans to urge them to vote against a bill that — with an amendment — would eliminate nonmedical exemptions from Oregon's school immunization law.

The invitation came via emails to senators on Monday. Sens. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, and Tim Knopp, R-Bend, confirmed to the Statesman Journal that they were invited to the screening.

Knopp said on Tuesday that Kennedy reached out to him on Sunday — presumably because Knopp is leading the opposition against Senate Bill 442 — and said he was interested in talking with the senators about the bill.

"He's very concerned about parental consent on this issue," Knopp said. "He's opposed to the bill with the amendments and wanted to talk to some senators."

In the email that was obtained by the Statesman Journal, Kennedy writes that lawmakers and their staffers are invited to the screening of the documentary "Trace Amounts" at Cinebarre in downtown Salem and that he plans to hold a question-and-answer session afterward.

"I consider this issue so important not just for Oregon but for the entire country that I wanted to make the trip to Salem to further educate lawmakers," the email reads.

Kennedy, who is a longtime environmental activist, also said he wants to meet with lawmakers Thursday before the evening screening.

Monnes Anderson, chairwoman of the Senate health care committee, said she will not make the screening. Steiner Hayward's chief of staff, Paige Pence, said in an email that the senator will not attend due to a scheduling conflict. Knopp said he plans to be there.

Kennedy wrote a book published last year about thimerosal, which has been phased out of most vaccines, except for flu shots. He argues that thimerosal is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there's no evidence of that.

An email sent through a contact form on Kennedy's website was not returned before press time Tuesday.

Knopp said he opposes the vaccine mandate bill because it takes out parental consent from children's medical care. He called the policy unnecessarily extreme and lacking evidence that it would bring a great public health benefit.

"For most people, vaccines are safe," he said. "However, for certain people, it is clear that vaccines can do substantial damage, including cause death."

Meanwhile, the Oregon Health Policy Board on Tuesday issued a statement in support of SB 442, saying immunizations are the safest and most effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death.

Oregon has the nation's highest nonmedical vaccine exemption rate for kindergarteners, at about 7 percent. However, there are numerous enclaves in local communities where the exemption rates reach double digits. That has been alarming for public health and medical professionals, who say a certain level of community immunization rates need to be maintained to prevent against disease outbreaks.

syoo@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6673 or follow at Twitter.com/syoo.