NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said newly released messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci raise questions about transparency after Fauci privately discussed a theoretical miscarriage concern involving post-vaccination fever and inflammatory responses in early pregnancy.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is criticizing former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci after newly released government text messages showed Fauci privately discussing a theoretical concern about miscarriage in pregnant women receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., released the Fauci message this week as part of a collection of communications obtained from Fauci’s government-issued phone.
In the message, Fauci discussed vaccination during pregnancy with then-CDC Director Rochelle Walensky and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Fauci wrote that he was concerned the “cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose” of the COVID shots “theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”
The wording expressed a theoretical concern rather than a finding that the vaccines had caused miscarriages.
The released material was also circulated through an X post.
Bhattacharya told Fox News that he found the contrast between Fauci’s private discussion and his public messaging “shocking.”
The NIH director argued that health officials owed the public greater disclosure about uncertainties they were considering internally during the pandemic.
“He [Fauci] owed the American pubic some transparency regarding his honest thoughts,” Bhattacharya said.
His comments were also shared in a second X post.
Bhattacharya expanded on his criticism during an appearance on the Salem News Channel, where he was asked whether pregnant women were “at risk when they were mandated to get the Covid shot.”
Rather than claiming the newly released text established an answer, Bhattacharya acknowledged uncertainty.
“I don’t know the full answer to that question,” he responded, adding, “But given the continued uncertainty in my mind about the answer to that question, I don’t think it should have ever been mandated… Especially for pregnant women, you have a new product, you’re Tony Fauci, you have doubts about whether this product is safe for pregnant women, and you see that clearly in his text messages. You shouldn’t be going out in public then and saying, ‘Yeah, everyone should take it, including pregnant women. It’s safe.’ I find my self astonished by this.”
That interview was circulated through another X post.
Bhattacharya argued that Fauci’s handling of uncertainty surrounding pregnancy vaccination contributed to distrust in public health institutions, particularly if concerns being discussed privately were not communicated with the same degree of caution publicly.
The controversy over the texts comes days after Fauci faced a separate confrontation with Congress.
A Senate committee held Fauci in contempt last week after he declined to answer questions during a July 29 hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
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