Meghan McCain is demanding that Dr. Anthony Fauci face prosecution after newly released text messages showed him privately discussing a theoretical concern involving COVID-19 vaccination and miscarriage during early pregnancy. However, the messages do not establish that the vaccine causes miscarriage, nor do they show Fauci making that claim.
Current CDC guidance states that studies involving more than one million pregnant women have found no increased risk of miscarriage or other pregnancy complications following COVID-19 vaccination. The texts were released by Republican Sens. Ron Johnson and Rand Paul as part of their ongoing investigation into Fauci’s handling of the pandemic.
6Johnson and Paul published the initial message chain on August 10 after receiving data from Fauci’s government-issued cellphone. The discussion took place between Fauci, then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on January 25 and 26, 2021, as health officials weighed questions about vaccinating pregnant women.
In one message, Fauci wrote that a second vaccine dose “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.” The released message does not state that Fauci had evidence of such an association, that one had occurred or that the vaccine directly caused miscarriages.
The use of “theoretically” is important because the conversation unfolded when data about COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy was still limited. The vaccines had only recently become available after accelerated development and regulatory review during the pandemic.
Murthy reportedly asked Fauci and Walensky whether they had seen a World Health Organization advisory “against pregnant women taking the Moderna vaccine bc [because] of lack of data? It has led to a flurry of questions. What is your take? I imagine we will all get asked about this.”
Fauci Said Risks And Benefits Needed To Be Weighed
6Fauci responded that “[with regard to] pregnant women one must weigh the potential risks against the benefits” of vaccination and COVID-19 itself. He also noted that “animal tox studies did not raise any red flags.”
Murthy described the WHO’s position as a “strong [one] to make” and warned that it was “potentially quite damaging to public confidence among pregnant women.”
The exchange reflected uncertainty among officials as they prepared to answer questions using the information available in early 2021.
Johnson and Paul said Fauci’s government phone contained more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails. The senators indicated that reviewing the remaining material would take time because of its volume and the need to protect private communications unrelated to public health.
The release of the isolated text chain nevertheless prompted an immediate and highly emotional response online.
Meghan McCain Reveals She Miscarried During The Pandemic
6McCain was among those calling for consequences after the messages became public. “Put Fauci in jail! I am a woman who was pregnant and had a miscarriage during COVID,” she wrote on X.
McCain, who shares three children with journalist Ben Domenech, did not state in the quoted post that vaccination caused her miscarriage.
Daniella Greenbaum Davis, former producer for “The View,” also took to X to express her frustrations. “When I was working at ‘The View,’ I was pregnant. We had a guest come on air who had just come back from a briefing with Fauci at the White House,” she wrote.
“She was on air and told Americans that everything was fine and to take the subway and just wash their hands. During the commercial break, she told me to go home and not come back,” she continued. “F-ck Fauci and f-ck every single person who blames the Americans who don’t trust institutions instead of the liars who got us here.”
6Additional users described miscarriages they said occurred after receiving COVID-19 shots. “I miscarried at 12 weeks just 5 days after a booster. Booster was taken after NP [nurse practitioner] stated she would be more worried about me as a mother if I declined it,” a woman identified as Roxy wrote.
A man named Dan Karpuc also shared his family’s experience. “My wife had a miscarriage after taking the required shots to keep her job/any job in healthcare,” he wrote.
CDC Says Studies Found No Increased Miscarriage Risk
6The CDC’s current guidance directly addresses the concern raised by the newly released messages. “COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has not been linked to increased health risks for pregnant women or babies. It helps reduce the risk for severe illness from COVID-19,” the agency states.
The CDC says studies have examined vaccination outcomes involving more than one million pregnant women worldwide. According to the agency, those studies found no increased risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, stillbirth or birth defects after mRNA vaccination before or during pregnancy.
The agency also notes that contracting COVID-19 while pregnant carries its own risks, including an increased likelihood of severe illness, hospitalization, premature birth and stillbirth. Current recommendations therefore emphasize discussing the individual benefits and risks with a health care provider.
The Texts Do Not Prove Fauci Concealed A Known Risk
6The messages reveal that Fauci privately considered a theoretical possibility while federal officials were navigating limited pregnancy-specific data in January 2021. They do not show that officials possessed evidence establishing a vaccine-miscarriage connection and withheld it from the public.
Later in 2021, Fauci publicly said monitoring had not identified an increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes among vaccinated women. The data collected during subsequent years supported that conclusion, according to the CDC.
Johnson and Paul have presented the messages as relevant to public health and informed consent, and their review of Fauci’s communications remains ongoing. Senators’ official release and text chain
The personal stories now being shared are painful and deserve sensitivity. They should not, however, be treated as scientific proof that vaccination caused those pregnancy losses, something neither Fauci’s text nor the available evidence establishes.
