Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rand Paul (R-KY) released a text message chain from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government cellphone, revealing links between COVID-19 vaccine-related health issues and pregnancies.
Johnson’s office said that while there are 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails discovered on the phone, there are only three contacts listed. Other messages are only known via the phone numbers instead of contact names.
The discussions of the vaccine’s safety for pregnant women involved Fauci, then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served as former President Joe Biden’s surgeon general.
Fauci said in one message, “There are no data or theoretical reason to believe that vaccinating early versus later in pregnancy would be preferred.”
“I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of. Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester,” he added in a subsequent message.
Walensky responded, “Definitely a good point, esp after dose two,” suggesting officials were aware of the risk of miscarriage, yet continued advocating for the vaccine. The information contrasts with what public officials claimed during the pandemic, as they asserted the vaccine was safe for pregnant women.
In 2021, Fauci said tens of thousands of women “who have been followed by the CDC, who have been vaccinated when they were pregnant, there’s no indication whatsoever that there’s any increase of any adverse issues in a pregnant woman who was vaccinated compared to a pregnant woman who wasn’t vaccinated … it’s pretty clear that pregnant women should get vaccinated.”
In 2025, the CDC finally pulled its recommendation that healthy children and pregnant women receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
