Topline
A pair of Republican senators investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while he was in government service released a handful of texts he sent and received in 2021 discussing whether the vaccine may be linked to miscarriages—but several studies have since shown there is no known link between vaccination and pregnancy complications.
A handful of Fauci’s texts from January 2021 were made public by Republican senators Monday evening. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Longtime Fauci critic, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., released 11 texts between Fauci and Rochelle Walensky, then-director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Vivek Murthy, surgeon general under the Biden administration, on Monday evening, which the senators said is the first of an upcoming trove of releases.
In the January 2021 text conversation, Fauci said there is “no data or theoretical reason” suggesting getting a COVID-19 vaccine earlier versus later in pregnancy is preferable, noting in a follow-up text since “many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
“Definitely a good point, esp after dose two,” Walensky responded, while Fauci said pregnant women should “weigh the potential risks” since there is a lack of data, though he noted COVID-19 infection can be serious during pregnancy and that thousands of pregnant women had been vaccinated with no issues reported.
Murthy said he was “surprised” the World Health Organization in January 2021 recommended against the Moderna vaccine, citing a lack of data as pregnant women were not included in clinical trials, saying the recommendation could be “quite damaging to public confidence among pregnant women.”
Paul and Johnson have presented the texts as evidence that Fauci deceived the public about the COVID-19 vaccines, with Paul accusing him in a post on X of putting “women and their unborn children at risk instead of admitting that he was wrong about the vaccines.”
Numerous studies, though, have found that there is no known link between COVID-19 vaccinations and pregnancy complications, and the CDC recommended pregnant women get the vaccine seven months after Fauci’s text exchange with Murthy and Walensky.
What Does The Science Say About Vaccinations For Pregnant Women?
When the CDC recommended pregnant women get vaccinated in August 2021, the agency cited a growing amount of data that showed pregnant women who had gotten vaccinated showed no signs of an increased risk for miscarriage. “I would say if you’re pregnant, not only is it a good idea to get the vaccine on the basis of safety, but it’s highly effective and important because you are at increased risk of bad outcomes if you get COVID,” Murthy said in a statement at the time. Numerous studies conducted since have shown no link between COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy complications. “There was no evidence of a higher risk of adverse outcomes including miscarriage,” a May 2022 peer-reviewed study published in Nature found, based on an analysis of 117,552 COVID-19 vaccinated pregnant people. Another study, published in February 2023 based on nearly 150,000 pregnant women, concluded there is “no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.” The CDC’s current vaccination recommendations for pregnant women say there is no link known between COVID-19 vaccines and increased health risks for pregnant women or their babies, noting pregnant women who contract the virus “are at increased risk of complications that can affect your health and the health of your baby.”
what to watch for
Paul and Johnson said they plan to release more of the 34,000 texts and 522 voicemails found on Fauci’s government-issued phone, which they obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services. They said it will “take time to carefully review the large volume of information the senators received” and will “work diligently and cooperatively to release relevant information to the public as soon as possible.”
chief critics
The texts enraged Fauci’s critics, who have grown louder after Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci’s diary entries and solicited testimony from him in July, where he pleaded the fifth more than 100 times. “Once again, Anthony Fauci was saying one thing in public and something completely different in private,” Paul said on X. Billionaire Bill Ackman said in a post, “WTF was he thinking?” saying his wife had “seven miscarriages trying to have a second child during Covid.”
key background
Paul, chair of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, has ramped up his probe into Fauci in recent weeks. During Fauci’s late July testimony, he delivered prepared remarks saying he would decline to answer questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment rights, accusing Paul of an “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution” and of making “repeated slanderous comments about me.” Paul warned Fauci it is against the law to obstruct a congressional investigation, and he led a committee vote that held Fauci in contempt of Congress last week. Democrats on the committee have largely criticized Paul and accused him of conducting a partisan investigation, with ranking Democrat Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., saying Paul led a “one-sided investigation and a rushed process” that could “harm our ability to conduct future investigations.”
further reading
Senate Committee Passes Fauci Contempt Resolution—Fauci’s Lawyer Calls It ‘Meritless’ (Forbes)
Fauci Testimony: Rand Paul Threatens Contempt After Fauci Declines To Answer Questions (Forbes)
Fauci Testifies Today: Here’s What We Learned From His Diaries (Forbes)