Fauci texts suggest officials were too slow to pivot' amid pandemic, says Dr Marc Siegel

Newly released text messages from Dr. Anthony Fauci have sparked fresh questions about his handling of evolving COVID-19 evidence, according to Fox News senior medical analyst. 

The texts are part of an initial batch of communications from Fauci's government-issued cellphone released Monday by Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Rand Paul, R-Ky. The messages shed light on private discussions between Fauci and other top health officials as they navigated evolving questions around .

In a Monday evening interview, Siegel suggested the former White House chief medical adviser was at times too "dogmatic" and slow to adapt as the science evolved.

EXPOSED FAUCI DIARY SHOWS HE ESTIMATED COVID-19 DEATH RATE TO BE MUCH LOWER THAN WHAT HE TOLD CONGRESS

Siegel said Fauci was a "top immunologist" and "top vaccinologist."

"And I respect that a lot," he said, adding that he felt Fauci then ventured beyond those areas of expertise.

"The other issue is flexibility. I have a feeling about Dr. Fauci that he's too dogmatic," Siegel told Fox News Digital, adding that Fauci would "stick to some idea he has and [follow] it through regardless of contradictory or changing evidence."

Siegel said he believed Fauci veered into territory beyond his medical training and knowledge, on issues including lockdowns, school closures and masking.

LEGACY MEDIA COVERS ANTHONY FAUCI DIARY BY CRITICIZING DONALD TRUMP INSTEAD OF FAUCI'S DISHONESTY

"So it's not surprising that he would, for lack of a better word, flip-flop on those areas," he said.

Regarding the newly released texts, Siegel said "it looks like he was trying to guide other public officials and leaders from the television camera, and that's not what you should be doing."

Among the issues addressed in the newly released messages is COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

Siegel emphasized that he remains a strong supporter of vaccines, including mRNA technology.

"I'm a big fan of the COVID vaccines and of the mRNA COVID vaccines," the doctor said. "I think they're getting a bad rap right now."

Pregnancy presented a complicated risk calculation because COVID-19 itself posed dangers to expectant mothers, Siegel noted. 

Early in the pandemic, he said, recommending vaccination during pregnancy was reasonable based on what was known at the time.

But as the virus changed and vaccines became less protective, Siegel said he believes the public discussion should have changed with it.

"As the vaccine changed and the virus mutated, and as the vaccine became less protective, that needed to be entered into the public debate about the vaccine — and Dr. Fauci wasn't fast enough to do that," Siegel said.

Siegel also pointed to a study that raised questions at the time about a potential link between a second vaccine dose and early miscarriage.

"I don't think that Dr. Fauci and others may have been quick enough to consider that," he said.

While subsequent