Dr. Anthony Fauci was privately informed in January 2021 that initial COVID-19 vaccine studies did not include women in the first trimester of pregnancy due to potential miscarriage risks, according to text messages released by Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson. The messages were obtained from Fauci's government-issued cellphone.
"I am corrected on pregnancy studies. Initial Studies [sic] avoid vaccination in first trimester due to possible fever and higher rates of miscarriage in first trimester,” Dr. John Mascola, then-director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center, texted Fauci on Jan. 25, 2021. At the time, it was publicly known that the vaccine had not been tested on early pregnancies during initial clinical trials.
Following Mascola's message, Fauci acknowledged a theoretical risk that COVID-19 vaccinations during pregnancy could be associated with miscarriages, particularly due to the potential for fever after a second dose. He noted that a "cytokines storm," a severe autoimmune response, could be linked to miscarriages in the first trimester.
Despite these private exchanges, Fauci stated during a Feb. 3, 2021, livestream with the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that the FDA had found "no red flags about… pregnant women" thus far. U.S. officials permitted pregnant women to receive the vaccine starting in late 2020, deferring to consultations with their doctors, while other countries initially adopted a more cautious approach.
More extensive research later in 2021 led to active encouragement for pregnant women to get vaccinated. Numerous studies since then, including British analyses from 2022 and 2023 involving tens of thousands of pregnancies, have not found a strong link between the vaccine and miscarriage. Conversely, studies have indicated that contracting COVID-19 during early pregnancy may increase miscarriage risk.
The exchange between Mascola and Fauci occurred as officials, including then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and then-CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, were discussing the limited data on pregnant women receiving the vaccine. Both Fauci and Walensky indicated the available information was "data free" at the time, prompting Mascola's clarification.
Sens. Paul and Johnson have been reviewing Fauci's cellphone, which contained over 34,000 texts and 522 voicemails. Paul previously questioned Fauci regarding his pandemic response before a Senate panel, where Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights multiple times.
In addition to the text messages, Johnson and Paul also revealed an email from Dr. Janet Woodcock, then-Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to Fauci and then-NIH Director Francis Collins. In the May 27, 2021, email, Woodcock raised concerns about adverse COVID-19 vaccine events reported by healthcare professionals, noting that patients felt their concerns were not being taken seriously. She warned that the symptoms did not form distinct syndromes and were difficult to quantify with standard testing, suggesting that systems like VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) might not detect them. Woodcock called for a study of affected individuals, cautioning that unaddressed problems could resurface later. Fauci forwarded her email to Collins, suggesting consultation with the CDC and Dr. Rochelle Walensky.