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By\u00a0 Ryan King
\nPublished\u00a0Aug. 16, 2026
\nUpdated Aug. 16, 2026, 8:23 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0Dr. Anthony Fauci<\/a>\u00a0was privately informed in January 2021 that the initial studies on\u00a0COVID-19 vaccination<\/a>\u00a0did not include women in the first trimester of pregnancy because of miscarriage risk, according to new texts released by Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson.<\/p>\n \u201cI am corrected on pregnancy studies.\u00a0Initial Studies [sic] avoid vaccination in first trimester due to possible fever and higher rates of miscarriage in first trimester,\u201d Dr. John Mascola texted Fauci on Jan. 25, 2021.<\/p>\n Mascola was serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases\u2019 (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center at the time.<\/p>\n The full context of the text messages isn\u2019t entirely clear, and it was\u00a0publicly reported<\/a>\u00a0at the time that the vaccine had not been tested on early pregnancies during the initial clinical trials.<\/p>\n After Mascola\u2019s message, Fauci said there was a theoretical risk that COVID-19 vaccinations during pregnancy could cause miscarriages due to the potential for a fever.<\/p>\n \u201cSince many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester,\u201d Fauci wrote.<\/p>\n Cytokines storm refers to a severe autoimmune response in which the body produces too many peptides signaling infection, leading the body to attack itself.<\/p>\n Days later, on Feb. 3, Fauci said\u00a0during a question-and-answer livestream<\/a>\u00a0with the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that the FDA \u201cfound thus far\u2026 no red flags about\u2026 pregnant women.\u201d<\/p>\n US officials\u00a0allowed pregnant women<\/a>\u00a0to get the vaccine starting in late 2020, deferring to consultation between them and their doctors, while other countries such as the United Kingdom were initially more cautious.<\/p>\n However, it wasn\u2019t until later in 2021, after more research was conducted, that pregnant women were actively encouraged to get the vaccine.<\/p>\n There have since\u00a0been numerous studies<\/a>, including a\u00a0British analysis<\/a>\u00a0in 2022 and another\u00a0one in 2023<\/a>, that looked at tens of thousands of pregnancies and found no strong link between the vaccine and miscarriage.<\/p>\n Notably, there are\u00a0studies indicating that contracting<\/a>\u00a0COVID-19 during the early stages of pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage.<\/p>\n The message from Mascola came while Fauci and other officials were discussing concerns about pregnant women receiving the jab.<\/p>\n Then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy had asked whether there was \u201cany data or theoretical reason why vaccinating early vs late in pregnancy would be preferred.\u201d<\/p>\n Fauci and then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky both indicated it was \u201cdata free\u201d at the time.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when Mascola chimed in that there hadn\u2019t been first-trimester studies yet.<\/p>\n Johnson (R-Wis.), who chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, had sought Fauci\u2019s government-issued cellphone, which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) forked over on Aug. 5.<\/p>\n Fauci\u2019s phone had over 34,000 texts and 522 voicemails on it.<\/p>\n Last month, Paul (R-Ky.), Fauci\u2019s arch-nemesis in the Senate, dragged him before the upper chamber\u2019s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to grill him on his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination over 100 times, drawing a contempt vote against him, which was approved by the committee and turned over to the Justice Department.<\/p>\n Last week, Fauci declined to appear before Johnson\u2019s subcommittee.<\/p>\n In addition to the new texts from Mascola, Johnson and Paul also divulged an email from Dr. Janet Woodcock, the then-Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to Fauci and Francis Collins about adverse COVID-19 events.<\/p>\n![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/dr-anthony-fauci-appears-senate-135870551_8c4206.jpg?w=1024\")
<\/a><\/div>\nSens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson have been poring through Dr. Anthony Fauci\u2019s government-issued cellphone.AP Photo\/Allison Robbert<\/span><\/h5>\n
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<\/a>Dr. Anthony Fauci and other officials grappled with the lack of data on pregnant women taking the COVID-19 vaccine at the time.X\/SenRonJohnson<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/figure>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/medical-advisor-several-u-s-136581799.jpg?w=1024\")
<\/a><\/div>\nDr. Anthony Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination during an appearance before a Senate panel last month.REUTERS<\/span><\/h5>\n
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