According to newly released text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic, the doctor privately worried that the second dose of the COVID vaccine carried an increased risk of miscarriage for pregnant women during their first trimester.
In January of 2021, Fauci wrote in a text message: "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."
NEW: Dr. Fauci was concerned in January 2021 that the second dose of the COVID shot “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) August 10, 2026
@SenRandPaul and I released the texts between Anthony Fauci, Rochelle Walensky, and Vivek Murthy below.
While I’ve… pic.twitter.com/jktB1PxfPL
And yet, in August of that same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official guidance stated: “Preliminary findings from CDC’s v-safe pregnancy registry suggest mRNA #COVID19 vaccination during early pregnancy does not increase miscarriage risk. Findings can help inform vaccination discussions during pregnancy between you & your patients.”
The text message from Fauci calls into question the studies cited by the CDC claiming there was no increased miscarriage risk for pregnant women. It lands even harder in light of private diary entries revealed earlier this year suggesting Fauci tried to elevate studies that reinforced his preferred narrative over others that might undercut his guidance and credibility.
Thankfully, the available evidence does not indicate an uptick in miscarriages across the country as the vaccine was rolled out, though no comprehensive national database tracks first-trimester losses. Several peer-reviewed studies published after Fauci left federal office, including U.S.-based research published as recently as 2025, have also found no evidence that vaccination directly increased miscarriage risk.
Some people, however, have argued that miscarriage rates due to the vaccine could've been as high as over 80 percent, although that has not been independently confirmed.
The mandated and doctor recommended COVID-19 shot for pregnant women was effectively an abortion shot according to new documents just released by Senators Johnson and Paul.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) August 10, 2026
“The authors claimed a miscarriage rate of 12.6%, but the raw data revealed an 82% miscarriage rate in… https://t.co/cSHWIEUkwK pic.twitter.com/OZHqUnKyAX
Still, Fauci’s conflicting views and the newly released text messages do little but deepen public distrust in government officials and institutions. Few, if any, of these concerns were shared with the American people at the time, despite the public’s right to know what their health officials were privately debating.
More research must still be completed before any definitive conclusions should be drawn.