New Emails Detail Early Fauci Exchange On Side Effects

Newly released government communications show that senior federal health officials were discussing reports of possible health problems following COVID-19 vaccination as early as May 2021, according to emails released by Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The senators published an email sent by Dr. Janet Woodcock, who was serving as acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration at the time, to Dr. Anthony Fauci and then-National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins.

In the message, Woodcock said she had been contacted by people, including healthcare professionals, who described health problems that occurred after receiving COVID-19 vaccines. She noted that the symptoms did not appear to form a single, clearly defined syndrome and could be difficult to measure through conventional laboratory testing.

Woodcock also questioned whether existing vaccine-safety monitoring systems would be capable of identifying the kinds of problems being reported. She referred specifically to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, commonly known as VAERS, along with other federal surveillance programs.

She suggested that a dedicated study might be needed to investigate the reports more closely. Woodcock also expressed doubt that pharmaceutical companies would be eager to support such research, warning that unresolved concerns could become more difficult to address if they were allowed to continue without further investigation.

Fauci responded to Collins the following day and wrote, “We cannot ignore her.” He suggested that the matter be discussed with Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who was then director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Johnson and Paul said the records they reviewed do not establish whether Walensky was ultimately contacted about Woodcock’s concerns.

The senators have pointed to the exchange as evidence that federal officials were privately discussing potential vaccine-related health problems while the nationwide vaccination campaign was underway. Their release also cited hundreds of thousands of adverse-event reports submitted to VAERS by that point.

Those figures, however, require context. VAERS is an early-warning reporting system that accepts reports of health events occurring after vaccination. A report to VAERS does not by itself establish that a vaccine caused the medical problem or death being reported. The database is intended to identify possible safety signals that may require further study.