Newly released government text messages show Dr. Anthony Fauci privately warned that what he described as “significant cytokines storm and fever” after a second COVID-19 vaccine dose theoretically could be associated with first-trimester miscarriage, nine days before he publicly said federal monitoring had found “no red flags” among vaccinated pregnant women.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the four-page text chain on Monday.
NEW: Dr. Fauci was concerned in January 2021 that the second dose of the COVID shot “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
@SenRandPaul and I released the texts between Anthony Fauci, Rochelle Walensky, and Vivek Murthy below.
While I’ve… pic.twitter.com/jktB1PxfPL— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) August 10, 2026
The Department of Health and Human Services produced data from Fauci’s government-issued phone on August 5, according to the senators. They said the exchange raises informed-consent questions about what officials told pregnant women during the rollout.
“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,” Fauci wrote on January 25, 2021.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, then-director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, replied, “Definitely a good point, esp after dose two.” Vivek Murthy, then President Joe Biden’s nominee for surgeon general, called Fauci’s concern about the post-second-dose response “a really good point.”
Officials acknowledged limited pregnancy data
The exchange began when Murthy asked whether officials had data or a theoretical reason to prefer vaccination early or late in pregnancy and when more robust pregnancy-risk data would become available.
Walensky described the subject as largely data-free and noted that more than 15,000 pregnant women had enrolled in the CDC’s v-safe monitoring program. Fauci initially wrote that there were no data or theoretical reason to favor vaccination earlier or later in pregnancy. He raised the miscarriage concern after telling the group he had “asked around a bit more.”
The following day, Murthy alerted the group that the World Health Organization had advised against routine use of Moderna’s vaccine during pregnancy because of the lack of data. Fauci responded that officials had to weigh potential risks against the risks of COVID-19.
Fauci wrote that pregnant women had not been allowed in the trials but that following emergency authorization, “a large number (more than 10,000) pregnant women have been vaccinated. No issues have arisen.” He added that animal toxicology studies had raised no red flags and that federal and medical authorities allowed pregnant women to choose vaccination.
CDC guidance published before the exchange likewise said no pregnancy safety data were available and that eligible pregnant women could choose vaccination after considering the risks with their medical team. The newly released texts add that the officials privately discussed a specific fever-related miscarriage possibility during the rollout.
‘No red flags’ reassurance followed
During a February 3, 2021, interview with JAMA, Fauci publicly acknowledged that the Pfizer and Moderna trials had excluded pregnant women. He then cited monitoring after the FDA issued the vaccines’ emergency use authorizations, known as EUAs.
“The FDA, as part of the typical follow-up you have following the initial issuing of an EUA, have found, thus far, and we’ve got to be careful, but thus far, no red flags about that, about pregnant women,” Fauci said.
A theoretical concern and the absence of a detected safety signal are not mutually exclusive. The texts nonetheless document that Fauci raised a specific first-trimester concern that he did not mention in that public reassurance.
Claims that the messages prove Fauci knew the vaccines caused miscarriages go beyond the record. The chain contains no case data or finding of causation. A 2021 Vaccine Safety Datalink study of 105,446 pregnancies, including 13,160 miscarriages, later found no increased odds of COVID-19 vaccination in the preceding 28 days among women who miscarried compared with women with ongoing pregnancies. The CDC now says studies covering more than 1 million vaccinated pregnant women have found no increased miscarriage risk.
Senate investigation continues
The release came four days after the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during a July 29 hearing, according to Paul.
Johnson and Paul said the phone data contain more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails. Only three contacts are listed by name, and the senators said it is too early to determine whether any information was deleted. They said staff members will review the records and release additional material they consider relevant.
Provided by Dallas Express
