Fauci Texts Show Private Concern Over Vaccine Miscarriage Risk

Republican Senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul released a batch of text messages on Monday, August 10, 2026, from Dr. Anthony Fauci’s government-issued phone, revealing private discussions among top health officials about a theoretical risk of miscarriage linked to the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The messages, dated January 25-26, 2021, show Fauci, then-Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rochelle Walensky, and then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy exchanging concerns about vaccine safety for pregnant women during the early rollout of the shots.

The central exchange began when Murthy asked if there was any data or theoretical reason to prefer vaccinating pregnant women earlier or later in their pregnancy. Fauci initially responded that there was no such reason. However, in a follow-up message sent at 6:45 p.m. on January 25, 2021, Fauci wrote, "I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of. Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester." Walensky replied that it was "definitely a good point, esp after dose...