False claim: Covid-19 vaccines are linked to miscarriages
What’s happening: A long-debunked claim that COVID-19 vaccines caused miscarriages in 82 percent of pregnant women resurfaced this week, spread widely among conservative commentators and by Republican U.S. senators on television and social media.
Context: The false claim that COVID vaccines cause miscarriages was reignited in recent days by the Aug. 10 release of a text message sent by Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. As NewsGuard reported earlier this week, in the text message, which Fauci sent on Jan. 25, 2021, he referred to a theoretical link between COVID vaccines and miscarriages. His text message — which came just as the vaccine was about to be rolled out, long before research had been done showing no connection between the vaccine and miscarriages — was not a warning, let alone a statement saying there was a connection.
A joint press release from Republican U.S. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin about Fauci’s text included a misrepresentation of a July 2021 study to claim that 82 percent of COVID-vaccinated women had experienced a miscarriage. In fact, the “82 percent” figure did not appear in the study, which actually concluded, “Preliminary findings did not show obvious safety signals among pregnant persons who received mRNA Covid-19 vaccines.”
A closer look: Conservative commentators pushed this alleged 82 percent miscarriage rate to compare COVID-19 vaccines to “an abortion shot,” even though NewsGuard had debunked the claim when it last resurfaced in May 2025. Since NewsGuard reported again on the claim earlier this week, it has continued to spread, and has been advanced by prominent voices.
- For example, Republican U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas advanced the false 82 percent miscarriage rate claim. Tuberville’s Aug. 10 X post received 138,000 views and 2,200 likes in three days. Cruz advanced the claim through an Aug. 12 episode of his “Verdict” podcast, a clip of which received 173,000 views and 2,100 likes on X.
- Katie Pavlich, a conservative commentator and host of “Katie Pavlich Tonight” on cable TV news station NewsNation, cited the supposed 82 percent miscarriage rate in an Aug. 10 X post, adding, “The mandated and doctor recommended COVID-19 shot for pregnant women was effectively an abortion shot according to new documents just released by Senators Johnson and Paul.” Pavlich’s post received 5.5 million views and 23,000 likes.
The 82 percent figure has circulated for years, but the spread exploded after Sens. Johnson and Paul issued their press release. Using a social media analytics tool, NewsGuard found 57,000 mentions on X of the phrase “82% miscarriage rate” between Aug. 10 and 13, compared to only one mention between Aug. 6 and 9.
NewsGuard did not immediately receive a response to emails and phone messages to the offices of Sens. Johnson, Paul, Cruz, and Tuberville seeking comment on their promotion of this false claim. NewsGuard’s emails to Pavlich and NewsNation were also not returned.
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This newsletter was edited by Sofia Rubinson and Eric Effron.
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