Republican Sens. Ron Johnson and Rand Paul have released the first set of text messages recovered from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government-issued phone, offering a look at private discussions among senior health officials about the COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy.
The messages, released Monday, date to Jan. 25-26, 2021, and involve Fauci, former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. The officials discussed questions surrounding vaccination during pregnancy, including concerns about potential risks during early pregnancy, such as possible miscarriages.
Publicly, Fauci said there was no such risk.
According to Johnson and Paul, investigators recovered more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails from Fauci’s phone. Only three contacts were saved on the device. The senators cautioned that investigators have not yet determined whether any information was deleted.
The exchange began when Murthy contacted Fauci and Walensky seeking guidance about the timing of COVID vaccination for pregnant women. Murthy asked whether there was any reason to recommend vaccination earlier or later in pregnancy and when more comprehensive safety data might become available.
Murthy said he had been telling pregnant women that there was no evidence from the available trials of concerning adverse outcomes.
Fauci responded that he agreed with Walensky that there was “no data or theoretical reason to believe that vaccinating early versus later in pregnancy would be preferred.” He also addressed concerns that mRNA vaccines could alter genetic material, describing the idea as a “misperception” and saying those fears could become particularly pronounced when applied to a developing fetus.
The conversation took a more cautious turn when Fauci followed up roughly two hours later. He said another potential concern had been raised: significant fever and cytokine responses following a second vaccine dose could be associated with miscarriage during the first trimester.
Walensky acknowledged the concern, responding, “definitely a good point, esp after dose two.”
Murthy said he had also encountered concerns that mRNA vaccines could cause mutations in a developing fetus and described Fauci’s point about a possible cytokine response after the second dose as helpful.
Fauci then said that when safety data are limited for pregnant women, the potential risks must be weighed against the potential benefits. He noted that COVID-19 could be particularly dangerous during pregnancy and said that more than 10,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated following emergency authorization at that point, adding, “No issues have arisen.”
Murthy subsequently raised concerns about a strong statement issued by the World Health Organization regarding vaccination during pregnancy. He warned that the guidance could undermine public confidence among pregnant women.
The newly released exchange provides additional context for public statements Fauci made in the following weeks. In a February 2021 interview, Fauci said there had been “no red flags” after approximately 20,000 pregnant women had received COVID-19 vaccines. Similar assurances about the absence of identified safety concerns were repeated by public health officials during the following year.
The senators’ release is the first batch of communications recovered from Fauci’s pandemic-era phone, and Johnson and Paul indicated that investigators are continuing to examine the device and its contents.
