Fauci’s Messages Made Public: What He Said About Covid-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy

The first messages obtained from former U.S. adviser Anthony Fauci’s official phone have been made public as part of an investigation by Republican senators into his role and decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic. In several communications, Fauci exchanges views with other health officials about the data and potential risks of vaccinating pregnant women.

Some of these conversations were released on Monday by Republican senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul. This came after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services handed Fauci’s phone over to a Senate subcommittee reviewing his activities.

The senators said the device contained more than 34,000 messages and 522 voice messages. So far, only 11 communications have been released, exchanged during the period when Fauci headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Discussions about the vaccine and pregnancy

On January 25, 2021, Vivek Murthy, who at the time was a member of President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 advisory board, asked Fauci whether pregnant women faced any potential risks. He also wanted to know whether the data indicated that vaccination was more appropriate during the early stages or toward the end of pregnancy.

In his response, Fauci said there was “no data or theoretical reason” to support the idea that vaccination early in pregnancy was more beneficial than receiving it at a later stage.

However, he mentioned a theoretical concern related to fever and the inflammatory response after the second dose. According to him, this could theoretically be linked to miscarriage during the first trimester.

Rochelle Walensky, who headed the CDC at the time, replied that this was an important consideration, particularly after receiving the second dose.

In a message sent one day later, Fauci emphasized that any vaccine for which there was limited data on its use during pregnancy should be carefully assessed. He wrote that the potential risk had to be weighed against the benefits.

At the same time, Fauci stressed that Covid-19 infection could cause particularly serious consequences during pregnancy.

Pregnant women had not participated in the initial vaccine trials. Despite this, Fauci wrote that, following emergency use authorization, more than 10,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated and no problems had been identified up to that point.

Subsequent developments

After reviewing the data and finding no increased risk of miscarriage or other vaccine-related safety concerns, the CDC officially recommended Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant women in August 2021.

Studies published later also concluded that Covid-19 vaccines can be used safely during pregnancy, while serious adverse reactions are rare.

Ron Johnson and Rand Paul have announced that their staff members are continuing to review the remaining materials stored on Fauci’s phone. They said they intend to release these records in the future.

Political clashes over Fauci

The disclosure of the communications comes at a time of heightened political tensions between Fauci and Republicans in Congress.

Rand Paul, who chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, has long been known as one of Fauci’s most vocal critics. Republicans claim that the former senior health official concealed information about the origins of the pandemic and misrepresented data during the management of the crisis. However, they have so far presented no clear evidence proving such a cover-up.

Last week, Republican senators on the subcommittee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. The decision came after he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times during a hearing and refused to answer questions on the grounds that his statements could be used in a criminal prosecution.

Democrats, meanwhile, have described the investigation as part of a political campaign against Fauci. They have accused Republicans of attempting to shift responsibility for criticism related to how the pandemic was managed.

A few days earlier, the committee also released more than 1,100 pages from Fauci’s personal diary, covering the period from 2019 to 2022.