“Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
GOP Senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul have released the first batch of text messages recovered from the government-issued phone belonging to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) during the pandemic.
The senators said that the phone contains over 34,000 text messages, as well as 522 voicemails, but has only three contacts saved. The senators said “it is too early to determine whether any data has been deleted.”
The text chain released on Monday took place between January 25 and 26, 2021, between Fauci, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, and former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. The health officials were seen discussing the Covid vaccine and possible miscarriages in pregnant women.
The chain began with Murthy messaging Fauci, asking, “For pregnant women considering getting the vaccine, are you aware of any data or theoretical reason why vaccinating early vs late in pregnancy would be preferred? And any sense of when there will be more robust data on vaccine risk in pregnant women?” Murthy said he had been telling pregnant women “that there hasn’t been evidence of concerning adverse outcomes in the trials.”
Fauci said he agreed with Walensky, saying “there are no data or theoretical reason to believe that vaccinating early versus later in pregnancy would be preferred.” He said there was a “misperception” that an mRNA “can ‘get into your genes,’” adding that, “when the misperception gets extended to an early developing fetus, the anxiety heightens.”
A little after two hours after sending his message, Fauci messaged again, writing, “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.” Per the Cleveland Clinic, a cytokine storm is when a human’s body releases too many cytokines, proteins in the body’s immune system and drive inflammation, at one time, which can lead to tissue and organ damage.
Walensky said, “definitely a good point, esp after dose two.” Murthy replied to the two officials, “This is really helpful, thanks. 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.”
Fauci replied that “in any vaccine in which data are lacking in pregnant women one must weigh the potential risks against the benefits.” He said that Covid can be “especially” dangerous in pregnancy, and that after the emergency use authorization was issued, over 10,000 pregnant women were vaccinated at that point in time. “No issues have arisen,” said Fauci.
Murthy said he was “surprised” to see WHO put out a “strong statement on the matter,” saying the statement could be “quite damaging to public confidence among pregnant women.”
In a February 2021 interview, Fauci said that “no red flags” have been raised after around 20,000 pregnant women received the Covid vaccine. This was repeated over the next year, with multiple officials saying similarly that no safety concerns had been found in pregnant women.
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