Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin released text messages Monday showing Dr. Anthony Fauci discussing the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women in early 2021, including a theoretical concern involving miscarriage during the first trimester.
The messages were obtained from Fauci’s government cellphone and are among more than 34,000 texts found on the device, according to Johnson’s office. Lawmakers also obtained 522 voicemails.
The Hill reached out to Fauci’s legal representatives for comment.
In a January 2021 text exchange, Fauci spoke with Dr. Vivek Murthy and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who served as surgeon general and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, respectively, during the Biden administration.
On Jan. 25, Murthy asked whether there was any data or theoretical reason pregnant women should receive the vaccine earlier or later in pregnancy and when more substantial information about potential risks might become available.
Walensky responded that more than 15,000 pregnant women were enrolled in the CDC’s V-safe vaccine safety monitoring system.
Fauci initially wrote that there “are no data or theoretical reason to believe that vaccinating early versus later in pregnancy would be preferred.”
However, Fauci also acknowledged concerns among some people, including female health care professionals, about receiving what he called a “‘genetic’ vaccine” very early in pregnancy. The then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director said there was a “misperception” that mRNA vaccines affected a recipient’s genes.
Nearly two hours later, Fauci raised another issue.
“I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of,” Fauci wrote.
He said that because many people experienced what he described as significant “cytokines storm and fever” following the second dose, “this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
Cytokines are proteins that act as chemical messengers within the immune system.
Walensky and Murthy agreed Fauci had made a “good point.”
The following day, during a discussion about the World Health Organization advising against pregnant women receiving the Moderna vaccine, Fauci wrote that pregnant women “must weigh the potential risks against the benefits” of immunization.
Fauci noted COVID-19 could be serious, particularly during pregnancy, and said the Food and Drug Administration, the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists allowed pregnant women to decide whether to receive the vaccine.
Johnson, a longtime Fauci critic alongside Paul, said Monday his investigation into the former federal health official “has only just begun.”
Johnson said Friday that the texts span roughly 2014 through a few days before Fauci left NIAID in December 2022. He cautioned that his staff could not guarantee everything had been preserved and said reviewing the material would take time because officials must protect individuals’ privacy.
The release comes less than a week after Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel approved a resolution holding Fauci in contempt of Congress. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during committee testimony last month.
Paul previously indicated he planned to send the criminal referral directly to the Justice Department rather than wait for a full Senate vote, saying he did not want to “waste time.”
