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Fauci discussed potential risks, benefits of COVID vaccine for pregnant women in 2021 texts released by GOP senators
CBS News • • nation
Key Points:
- Two Senate Republicans, Rand Paul and Ron Johnson, released early 2021 text messages showing Dr. Anthony Fauci and other health officials discussing the risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women.
- The texts, from late January 2021, reveal that at the time, officials were still gathering data on pregnant women receiving vaccines, with Fauci noting no data favored vaccinating earlier or later in pregnancy and acknowledging potential theoretical risks.
- Fauci emphasized weighing potential risks against benefits, highlighting that COVID-19 poses serious risks during pregnancy, and noted that over 10,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated without reported issues at that time.
- Since then, multiple studies and CDC recommendations have confirmed that COVID-19 vaccines do not increase pregnancy risks and are advised for pregnant women to reduce severe illness.
- The release of these texts may intensify ongoing disputes between Fauci and congressional Republicans over his pandemic response, following recent disclosures of Fauci’s diary entries and communications.
