Senator Ron Johnson has voiced strong criticism regarding guidance on COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women, describing the situation as "truly sick." His remarks come as he released a series of private messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci, which he contends reveal discrepancies between private concerns and public assurances.
"We advise pregnant women against even a single glass of wine, yet they were pressured, convinced, and sometimes mandated to receive an experimental gene therapy as early as the first trimester," Senator Johnson stated. He emphasized that he has been aware of these issues for years, but the recent texts from Dr. Fauci have finally brought the matter the media attention it deserves.
Senator Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin, and Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, acquired Dr. Fauci’s phone from his tenure as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This acquisition is part of their broader investigation into the former chief medical advisor to the president.
The release of these messages coincided with Senator Paul's efforts to hold Dr. Fauci in contempt of Congress for repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment, a measure Paul successfully pursued and has since referred to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Fauci's Private Concerns on Pregnancy and Vaccines
As chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senator Johnson released the initial set of private communications found on Dr. Fauci's device on Monday. One notable exchange from January 2021 involved Dr. Fauci, then-Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who would later become Surgeon General in the Biden administration.
During this discussion, Dr. Fauci privately acknowledged anxieties about the potential effects of mRNA vaccines on pregnant individuals.
"I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of," Dr. Fauci wrote. "Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester."
Senator Johnson asserted that he had "never heard a federal health official admit that about the injections" publicly. He also pointed out that cytokine storms have been linked to adverse pulmonary effects following vaccination.
"One must compare these private statements with their public pronouncements, which were contradictory, and also with what they were publishing," Johnson remarked.
Challenging Vaccine Study Statistics
Senator Johnson highlighted a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2021 by Dr. Tom Shimabukoro, which appeared after Dr. Fauci’s initial private concerns. The study reported that among 827 pregnancies exposed to mRNA vaccines, 104 experienced "spontaneous abortions," which Johnson identified as miscarriages.
However, Johnson contended that the study's figures were misleadingly presented. He explained that out of the 827 women, 700 received their vaccination in the third trimester, while only 127 received them in the first or second trimester. Crucially, all 104 miscarriages occurred within this smaller group of 127 women who were vaccinated earlier in their pregnancies.
"Therefore, the accurate percentage is 104 divided by 127, which indicates an 82% miscarriage rate among women who received the injection in the first or second trimester," Johnson asserted. "I mean, that is shocking, and they knew it. They're not that stupid. They're just that devious to manipulate the statistics that way to misinform, to lie to the American public."
Ongoing Investigation and Future Disclosures
Senator Johnson's examination of the retrieved phone and its extensive data is still in its preliminary stages. The lawmaker is proceeding cautiously with information releases, aiming to avoid disclosing personal details or delving into Dr. Fauci's private life unrelated to official duties. His primary objective is to uncover more communications where Dr. Fauci's private sentiments differed from his public statements.
"This will require time, but when my staff reviewed this particular information, it immediately struck me as impacting public safety and informed consent," Johnson stated. "Consequently, I felt compelled to release this immediately. I am confident there will be many more revelations to come."
He concluded, "I believe this is merely the tip of the iceberg."