Dr. Anthony Fauci privately discussed concerns about COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in pregnant women in January 2021, including fever after a second dose and a theoretical first-trimester miscarriage risk, according to newly released text messages from his government-issued phone.
The January 2021 exchange included Fauci, then-director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, then-CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who later became surgeon general.
According to the messages, Murthy asked whether pregnant women should receive the vaccine during a particular stage of pregnancy and whether officials were aware of adverse outcomes among women who had already been vaccinated.
Fauci said there was no evidence at the time showing one stage of pregnancy was safer than another for vaccination. However, he also raised a theoretical concern about the strong immune response and fever experienced by some people after a second vaccine dose.
Fauci wrote that such a reaction could theoretically be associated with miscarriage during the first trimester. Walensky replied that it was a consideration, particularly after the second dose.
The discussion occurred when safety data involving pregnant women remained limited because they had largely been excluded from the initial COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials.
The newly released messages have drawn attention because Fauci publicly said days later that federal regulators had not seen safety “red flags” involving pregnant women.
However, the private messages do not show that Fauci had evidence COVID vaccines were causing miscarriages. Instead, they show officials discussing a possible risk while reviewing limited information available at the time.
Fauci also noted during the exchange that thousands of pregnant women had already received vaccines without reported problems and that animal studies had not identified significant safety concerns.
More data became available later in 2021. The CDC said an analysis involving nearly 2,500 women who received an mRNA vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy found a miscarriage rate of about 13%, which was within the expected background range in the general population.
The texts were reportedly recovered from Fauci’s government-issued phone as part of ongoing congressional investigations into pandemic-era decision-making.
Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson, have continued examining Fauci’s communications and the federal government’s handling of COVID-19.
Text messages released by committee are here.
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