Newly released text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci's government-issued phone are giving the public a rare look at how top U.S. health officials privately discussed COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy at a time when little data was available.

The messages, released Monday by Republican Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky, show Fauci, then-Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky discussing both facts and variables surrounding COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women in January 2021, weeks after the first vaccines became available.

Among the most scrutinized passages is a message in which Fauci, then-director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wrote that while there was "no data or theoretical reason" to favor vaccination earlier or later in pregnancy, fever and immune responses following vaccination "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester." At the same time, Fauci and the other officials discussed the lack of evidence showing safety problems among vaccinated pregnant women and emphasized that data collection efforts were underway.

The disclosure comes amid intensifying Republican investigations into Fauci's handling of the pandemic. It follows the release of more than 1,000 pages of his COVID-era diaries, a contentious Senate hearing where Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times and a Senate committee vote to hold him in contempt of Congress.

The exchanges show officials wrestling with questions that remained unresolved in early 2021, when pregnant women had largely been excluded from initial COVID-19 vaccine trials and federal health agencies were still gathering real-world safety data. The discussion of a theoretical miscarriage risk appeared alongside repeated statements in the same conversations that there was no evidence the vaccines were causing harm and that COVID-19 itself could pose serious risks during pregnancy.

What the Texts Show

The exchange began when Murthy asked Fauci and Walensky whether there was any evidence suggesting pregnant women should receive COVID-19 vaccines earlier or later in pregnancy.

Walensky responded that the issue was largely "data free" but noted that the CDC had established a pregnancy registry and was monitoring outcomes among vaccinated women. Fauci agreed there was no evidence favoring one stage of pregnancy over another. He also referenced public concerns about mRNA vaccines and added that fever and cytokine responses after vaccination "theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester." The officials discussed those concerns while acknowledging a lack of direct evidence showing harm.

In a separate exchange the following day, the officials discussed a World Health Organization announcement advising against Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women because of limited data. Fauci responded that COVID-19 itself could be a serious illness during pregnancy and said no safety concerns had emerged among more than 10,000 vaccinated pregnant women. He also cited animal studies that had not raised safety concerns and noted that U.S. health authorities and major obstetrics organizations supported allowing pregnant women to choose vaccination in consultation with their doctors.

The messages were among the first records released from a phone that Johnson and Paul say contains more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemails.

Newsweek reached out to Fauci, Paul's office, Johnson's office and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for comment.

Why the Release Matters

Johnson and Paul argue the texts raise questions about what health officials knew and how they communicated risks to the public.

In announcing the release, the senators highlighted Fauci's reference to a theoretical first-trimester miscarriage risk and contrasted it with later public statements by federal health officials encouraging vaccination during pregnancy.

The senators' release also included examples of later public statements from Fauci, Walensky and Murthy emphasizing that available evidence did not show increased risks for pregnant women and that vaccination benefits outweighed known or potential risks.

By summer 2021, the CDC and major obstetrics organizations were recommending vaccination during pregnancy as more safety data became available.

The CDC formally recommended COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women in 2021 after reviewing additional safety data. ACOG and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine later issued similar recommendations. The Trump administration under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has since moved away from routine federal recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

How This Fits Into the Broader Fauci Investigation

The text-message release is part of a wider effort by Paul and Johnson to scrutinize Fauci's role during the pandemic.

Last month, Paul released more than 1,000 pages of Fauci's pandemic-era diaries before subpoenaing him to testify before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The diaries documented internal discussions about COVID-19's origins, disagreements within the government's response and concerns about public messaging.

Among the entries highlighted by Republicans were early discussions about whether the virus could have originated in a laboratory and frustrations with aspects of the federal response. However, reviews of the diaries also noted that many entries reflected uncertainty and debates that Fauci had publicly acknowledged at the time.

Paul has long argued that Fauci misled Congress and the public about issues including COVID-19's origins and government-backed research in China. Fauci has consistently denied those allegations.

Why Fauci Pleaded the Fifth

The texts were released just days after a Senate committee voted along party lines to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress following his refusal to answer questions during a July hearing.

At that hearing, Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment repeatedly, arguing that Paul had spent years publicly calling for his prosecution and that answering questions could expose him to legal risk. His attorney has said Fauci was exercising a valid constitutional right.

Paul argues Fauci should not have been able to rely on the Fifth Amendment because former President Joe Biden issued him a sweeping preemptive pardon covering potential federal offenses tied to his government service between 2014 and January 2025. According to Paul, that pardon removed any realistic risk of federal prosecution for conduct during that period.

Fauci's defenders counter that the pardon does not shield him from possible future perjury charges or other legal exposure arising from new testimony, meaning the Fifth Amendment privilege could still apply. Legal experts have differed on the issue.

What Comes Next

Johnson and Paul have indicated that additional material from Fauci's phone may be released after staffers review the contents of the device. The senators say the records include tens of thousands of messages and hundreds of voicemails.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins.