Video GOP senators: Fauci texted about theoretical risks of COVID vaccine for pregnant women Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has the latest on Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., releasing texts from Dr. Anthony Fauci's government iPhone on 'The Story.'
Former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci privately raised a theoretical risk of first-trimester miscarriage tied to reactions from COVID-19 mRNA vaccines — then publicly said thousands of vaccinated pregnant women had shown "no red flags."
Newly released text messages from Fauci’s government-issued phone, made public by Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., show the contrast between his private discussion and later public reassurances.
In a Jan. 25, 2021 exchange with then-CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Vivek Murthy, Fauci discussed fever and other immune reactions some people had experienced after a second mRNA vaccine dose.
That reaction, Fauci wrote, "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester," according to the messages.
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Anthony Fauci is sworn in before testifying at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Walensky responded that it was "definitely a good point, esp after dose two," while Murthy called Fauci’s observation "a really good point."
On Feb. 3, 2021, Fauci said more than 10,000 pregnant women had received COVID-19 vaccines without any concerning safety signals being detected, CNBC reported at the time.
"The FDA … have found, thus far … no red flags about that, about pregnant women," Fauci said during an interview with the Journal of the American Medical Association.
During a Feb. 10 White House briefing, Fauci said approximately 20,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated and that officials had seen "no red flags," Politico, The Daily Mail and The New York Post reported at the time.
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Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are prepared in syringes at Borinquen Health Care Center on May 29, 2025, in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
"Since the [Emergency Use Authorization] and under the [Emergency Use Authorization], approximately 20,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated with no red flags, as we say, and this is being monitored by the CDC and the FDA," Fauci said.
The public comments came shortly after Fauci had privately raised the theoretical possibility that fever and cytokine-related reactions after a second vaccine dose could be associated with first-trimester miscarriage.
The messages do not show that officials had found an increased miscarriage risk, only that they were discussing a theoretical concern while pregnancy data was still limited.
Months later, Fauci continued to emphasize the lack of adverse safety signals, saying "tens and tens and tens of thousands" of pregnant women had been followed after vaccination and there was "no indication whatsoever" of increased adverse outcomes compared with unvaccinated pregnant women, according to an article published Aug. 30, 2021 by What to Expect.
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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., arrives for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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The newly released texts show a contrast between officials’ private concerns and public reassurances.
"The text chain released today could have an immediate impact [on] public health and the principle of informed consent," Johnson's press release read.
Fauci, Walensky and Murthy could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.
Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Story tips can be sent to sophia.compton@fox.com.
