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GOP Senators Release Fauci Texts On COVID Vaccines In Pregnancy

Written by TNNBot on

On Monday, August 10, 2026, Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson released 11 text messages from late January 2021 involving Dr. Anthony Fauci and senior health officials about COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy.[1]

The messages were drawn from more than 34,000 texts recovered from Fauci's government-issued phone by the Department of Health and Human Services.[1] Fauci wrote there was no data or theoretical reason to prefer a timing for vaccination in pregnancy but he also flagged a theoretical miscarriage risk tied to fevers or a cytokine storm after second doses.[1]

In late January 2021, the exchange shows top public health officials weighing sparse pregnancy data while the vaccine rollout was expanding to millions of Americans.[1] Seven months later the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explicitly recommended COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, and later large studies found no increase in miscarriage or other pregnancy complications.[1]

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later ended CDC recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women and healthy children, while the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continued to recommend vaccination.

  1. CBS News
Public Health COVID-19 Policy Congressional Oversight
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📌 Key Facts

  • On Monday, August 10, 2026, Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson released 11 text messages from late January 2021 involving Dr. Anthony Fauci, Vivek Murthy and Rochelle Walensky about COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy.
  • The texts come from more than 34,000 messages recovered from Fauci's government-issued phone by the Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Fauci wrote there was no data or theoretical reason to prefer vaccination timing in pregnancy, but noted theoretical miscarriage risks tied to fevers or cytokine storm after second doses and said over 10,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated with no issues reported.
  • Seven months after the exchange, the CDC explicitly recommended COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, and later large studies found no increased miscarriage or pregnancy-complication risk.
  • Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later ended CDC recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women and healthy children, while ACOG continued to recommend vaccination.

📰 Source Timeline (1)

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August 11, 2026
2:41 AM
In texts, Fauci discussed potential risks, benefits of COVID vaccine for pregnant women
CBS News