Republicans Revive False Miscarriage Statistic, Twist Fauci's Texts About COVID-19 Shots - FactCheck.org

Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Johnson released January 2021 text messages from Anthony Fauci in which he flagged a theoretical, unconfirmed concern about vaccine-related fever and first-trimester miscarriage, then framed subsequent public reassurances as deliberate lying. Studies since have found no increased miscarriage risk from COVID-19 vaccination, and experts note Fauci's texts also included reassuring information alongside the caveat.

The senators also revived a long-debunked claim of an 82% miscarriage rate, based on a faulty 2021 calculation from safety-monitoring data that FactCheck.org and others had already corrected. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya added that miscarriage risk is 'certainly possible' and disputed in the literature, a claim experts say current data does not support.

Johnson's office, when pressed, did not defend the 82% figure directly, instead pivoting to arguments about inadequate safety surveillance. Neither Paul's office nor NIH responded to requests to substantiate their claims.

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