Two Republican senators on Aug. 10 released text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government-issued cellphone that showed him discussing potential COVID-19 vaccine risks for pregnant women.
The messages, released by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), date to January 2021, when Fauci headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). They were among more than 34,000 messages obtained from the device.
The exchange was between Fauci, then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general during the Biden administration.
Murthy asked in a Jan. 25, 2021, text whether there was “any data or theoretical reason” for preferring COVID-19 vaccination earlier or later in pregnancy, and when more robust data on vaccine risks for pregnant women would be available.
In response, Walensky said her understanding was that the vaccine risks for pregnant women were “data free.” But she said more than 15,000 pregnant women had enrolled in the CDC’s vaccine safety monitoring system, so data was being collected.
Fauci said there was no data to determine whether vaccination was preferable earlier or later in pregnancy. He noted that cytokine responses and fever after a second dose “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester,” which both Walensky and Murthy agreed was a good point.
In another text exchange on Jan. 26, 2021, the health officials discussed a World Health Organization statement advising against the use of the Moderna vaccine in pregnant women because of insufficient data.
Fauci told the officials that for “any vaccine in which data are lacking in pregnant women, one must weigh the potential risks against the benefits.” He went on to say that while pregnant women were not allowed in the vaccine trials, more than 10,000 chose to get the vaccine.
“No issues have arisen. Animal [toxicology] studies did not raise any red flags,” he said.
Johnson and Paul said the released messages could have an immediate impact on public health decisions and whether people were adequately informed about potential vaccine risks when making decisions.
The senators also included public statements made by Fauci, Walensky, and Murthy in which they recommended COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women despite the lack of data.
The Epoch Times reached out to Fauci’s legal counsel for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
Fauci headed the NIAID beginning in 1984 and became a household name in early 2020 when he began delivering interviews to media outlets about the COVID-19 pandemic. He stepped down from the role in December 2022.
