Fauci Text Reveal: What It Shows About COVID Vaccine Risk to Pregnant Women

Text messages recently released from former U.S. government official Dr. Anthony Fauci's government-issued phone provide insight into private discussions regarding COVID-19 vaccine risks for pregnant women in January 2021. The messages, obtained by Republican Senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul, reveal a conversation between Fauci, then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky discussing the lack of data and theoretical considerations around vaccination timing during pregnancy.

Fauci acknowledged that fever and immune response following vaccination could potentially be linked to miscarriage in the first trimester, but emphasized that there was no evidence of safety problems among vaccinated pregnant women. The officials also noted that data collection efforts were underway and that the CDC had established a pregnancy registry to monitor outcomes.

This discussion took place at a time when pregnant women had been largely excluded from early COVID-19 vaccine trials, and federal health agencies were still gathering real-world safety data. The exchange comes amid intensifying Republican investigations into Fauci's handling of the pandemic, following the release of over 1,000 pages of his COVID-era diaries and contentious Senate hearings where Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment multiple times.

The senators argue that the texts raise questions about what health officials knew and how they communicated risks to the public, highlighting Fauci's reference to a theoretical miscarriage risk in early pregnancy while contrasting it with later public statements encouraging vaccination during pregnancy. By summer 2021, both the CDC and major obstetrics organizations recommended COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women after reviewing additional safety data, as did ACOG and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.