Republican senators have released COVID-era text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci's government-issued cellphone, including discussions from January 2021 regarding the COVID-19 vaccine's potential effects on pregnant women. The messages involve Fauci, then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, and then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
One text from Fauci indicated a concern that the second dose of the COVID shot "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester." In another exchange, Murthy asked Fauci and Walensky if they had seen a World Health Organization (WHO) advisory "against pregnant women taking the Moderna vaccine bc of lack of data?" Murthy noted that the advisory had "led to a flurry of questions" and predicted they would "all get asked about this."
Fauci responded to Murthy's inquiry by stating that with regard to pregnant women, one must "weigh the potential risks against the benefits" of vaccination versus contracting COVID-19. He also added that "animal tox studies did not raise any red flags." Murthy described the WHO statement as a "strong [one] to make" and "potentially quite damaging to public confidence among pregnant women."
The released messages were part of a larger cache of over 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails from Fauci's government-issued phone. Investigators noted that only three contacts were listed in the phone, with most messages identified only by phone numbers, raising questions about whether data may have been deleted.
Senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul, who published the texts, have also requested transcribed interviews with Fauci and other Food and Drug Administration officials. Johnson has alleged that senior FDA officials ignored warnings about the agency’s vaccine safety monitoring system's inability to detect potential safety signals. He is seeking Fauci's testimony to provide "much-needed transparency about the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's response to it."
Fauci recently appeared before the Senate, where he invoked the Fifth Amendment 111 times during questioning. Senator Rand Paul's committee found Fauci in contempt of Congress, a referral that was later sent to the Department of Justice. During the hearing, Fauci accused Paul of having an "unhinged obsession" with him. The exchange was marked by sharp exchanges, including the ejection of Fauci's attorney from the hearing room. Fauci's personal diaries, released last month, reportedly show him commenting on his public profile and fame during the pandemic, including an invitation to participate in "Dancing with the Stars."