A newly released set of January 2021 text messages from a Senate committee shows Dr. Anthony Fauci privately warning that fever and other reactions after a second COVID-19 vaccine dose “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester,” and the disclosure has set off sharp criticism from Republican officials demanding answers and accountability.
The messages came from Fauci’s government-issued cellphone and were made public by Senators Rand Paul and Ron Johnson. In the exchange, Fauci raised the theoretical link between post-vaccine reactions and early pregnancy loss, a line that now fuels GOP claims that key risks were hidden from the public.
Sen. Rand Paul seized on the release and blasted Fauci on social media, insisting the public was misled. “Once again, Anthony Fauci was saying one thing in public and something completely different in private,” Paul said in a post on X. “He was willing to put women and their unborn children at risk instead of admitting that he was wrong about the vaccines that he tried guilting Americans into taking.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also angrily addressed the topic online and pressed for consequences. “Pregnant women were told it was safe! How many women lost babies due to Dr. Fauci’s lies,” Uthmeier said in a post on X. That blunt accusation reflects a broader Republican demand for transparency about what public health officials knew and when they knew it.
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene pushed the rhetoric further and called for criminal accountability in strong terms. “Fauci knew Covid shots cause miscarriages. And still forced the shots. Fauci belongs in prison,” Greene said in a post on X. “If a Covid vaccine can kill a baby and cause a miscarriage, then imagine all the other things it can do to you. And Fauci knew it and still told people to take it,” she added in a separate post.
Sen. Ron Johnson’s office framed the released texts as a matter of urgent public concern and argued the findings “could have an immediate impact [on] public health and the principle of informed consent.” The criticism is focused on whether warnings were suppressed and whether Americans received the full facts before deciding to get vaccinated.
At the time, Fauci had also acknowledged there were “no data or theoretical reason” to favor vaccinating earlier in pregnancy over later, a remark now contrasted with the newly disclosed private text. He further noted that more than 10,000 pregnant women had already been vaccinated with “no issues” reported, a point officials cited as justification for public guidance then offered.
The messages also show Dr. Vivek Murthy, who later served as surgeon general, highlighted a World Health Organization caution about Moderna for pregnant women given limited data. Murthy warned that issuing a strong recommendation against vaccination based on lack of data could be “potentially quite damaging to public confidence among pregnant women,” reflecting a tension between caution and the risk of undermining trust.
The release has sharpened Republican calls for fuller disclosure and oversight as lawmakers press for documents and testimony. For critics in Congress, the core demand is simple: Americans deserve transparent explanations about health risks so families can make informed choices without political spin.
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