The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Digital Library
Early in 1976 several soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey, fell ill with a strain of H1N1 influenza. One of the soldiers died from this swine flu, leading to fears of a widespread outbreak of a strain of flu that might be closely related to the one that caused the 1918 pandemic. At the urging of the Center for Disease Control and several well-known and respected scientists, the Ford administration moved quickly to initiate a program in response to this perceived threat. This undertaking "was unprecedented in intended timing and in scope among American immunization efforts," Richard Neustadt and Harvey Fineberg later noted in their report The Swine Flu Affair. President Ford announced the launch of the National Swine Flu Immunization Program on March 24, 1976. He called for three actions: for Congress to appropriate $135 million to fund production of enough vaccine to inoculate the entire population of the United States; for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) to develop plans for distributing the vaccine from September to November of that year; and for every person to receive the vaccine once it became available. "Let me state clearly at this time, no one knows exactly how serious this threat could be," he said. "Nevertheless, we cannot afford to take a chance with the health of our Nation." Congress appropriated the necessary funds and vaccine production began. Several issues arose that slowed progress, most significantly the vaccine manufacturers’ demands for the government to provide liability protection to them in case of adverse reactions to inoculation. The National Swine Flu Immunization Program of 1976 legislation signed on August 12 answered that request and officially authorized HEW to carry out the planned inoculations. Due to delays vaccine distribution did not begin until October. More than 40 million people received the swine flu shot in less than three months. A small number of people who were immunized developed a serious side effect, Guillain-Barré syndrome, which led to the suspension of the program on December 16 to investigate the risk associated with the vaccine. Large scale immunization never resumed. HEW officially ended the swine flu immunization program in March 1977. |
Digitized Holdings Related to the Swine Flu Immunization Program of 1976
Selected Items- Launching the National Influenza Immunization Program (NIIP), March-April 1976
- White House meeting on the Swine Influenza Program, March 22
- President Ford’s remarks announcing the National Swine Flu Immunization Program, March 24
- Swine Influenza Immunization Program fact sheet, March 24
- Press conference: David Mathews, Jonas Salk, Albert Sabin, Theodore Cooper and David Sencer, March 24
- Support from the American National Red Cross, March 26
- Letter from citizen who survived the 1918 epidemic, April 15
- Delays, Concerns, and Liability Legislation, April-August 1976
- Legal questions raised by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, April 1
- Warner-Lambert telegram about liability insurance, June 15
- Letter from the Governor of Pennsylvania about delays, July 8
- Detailed status report from David Mathews, July 22
- Swine Flu Influenza Immunization Program Legislation fact sheet, August 5
- National Swine Flu Immunization Program Legislation case file for the President, August 12
- Program Outcome
- External Resource: The Swine Flu Affair: Decision-Making on a Slippery Disease by Richard E. Neustadt and Harvey V. Fineberg
- External Resource: "Reflections on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program" by David J. Sencer (CDC) and J. Donald Millar (NIIP)
- Audiovisual Materials
- Selected Photographs
- White House Communications Agency Audio: President Gerald R. Ford's Remarks to the White House Press concerning the Swine Flu Crisis followed by press briefing, March 24, 1976, WAV or MP3
- Artifacts
Systematically Digitized Folders
- James Cannon Files
- Swine Flu (1)
- Swine Flu (2)
- Swine Flu (3)
- Swine Flu (4)
- Swine Flu (5)
- Swine Flu (6)
- Swine Flu (7)
- Swine Flu (8)
- Swine Flu - Meeting with the President and Dr. Cooper, July 9, 1976
- Swine Flu - Meeting with Secretary Mathews, Ted Cooper, Will Taft, and Paul O'Neill, July 20, 1976
- 1976/03/22 - President
- 1976/03/24 - Swine Influenza Immunization Program Meeting
- 1976/07/29 - Swine Flu Meeting
- 1976/08/12 - Swine Flu Immunization Program Signing Ceremony
- Vernon C. Loen and Charles Leppert Files
- John Marsh Files
- Ron Nessen Files
- Press Secretary Briefings, 8/4/76
- Press Secretary Briefings, 8/9/76
- Press Secretary Briefings, 8/11/76
- Ron Nessen Papers
- Swine Flu (General Subject File)
- Swine Flu (Domestic Guidance for Press Briefings)
- Persico, Joseph (White House Memoranda)
- Presidential Handwriting File
- Presidential Handwriting 6/10/76 (1), Memorandum, James Connor to James Cannon. This item contains information regarding the purchase of a Swine-Type Influenza vaccine by Canada and Mexico.
- Presidential Handwriting 9/4/76, Recommended telephone call, Secretary Mathews. This item contains information regarding a recommended telephone call to Secretary David Mathews to discuss swine flu.
- Presidential Speeches: Reading Copies
- 3/24/76 - Remarks at a Meeting of the American Society of Medical Technology and the Coalition of Independent Health Professionals
- 3/24/76 - Remarks on the Anticipated Threat Posed by Swine Flu
- 4/1/76 - Advertising Council Reception in the East Room
- 4/15/76 - Remarks Upon Signing of H.R. Res. 890, National Influenza Immunization Program
- 8/6/76 - Remarks Urging Congressional Enactment of the Swine Flu Immunization Program
- 8/12/76 - Remarks Upon the Signing of S. 3735: National Swine Flu Immunization Program of 1976
- White House Press Releases
- White House Records Office: Legislation Case Files
- 4/15/76 HJR890 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations 1976
- 6/23/76 S1466 National Consumer Health Information and Health Promotion Act of 1976
- 8/12/76 S3735 National Swine Flu Immunization Program of 1976
- 9/23/76 HR9811 William S Middleton Memorial Hospital
Additional Collections for General Information
- President's Daily Diary (Additional information on President Ford's schedule and activities on any day of his administration.)
- White House Photograph Contact Sheets (View images taken by White House Photographers on any day of the Ford administration.)
To provide a public resource on this Federal government program, Ford Library staff members Anne-Louise Mittal and Nancy Mirshah selected and digitized a number of documents and photographs from the Library's holdings. Ford Library staff have added more materials as they have been systematically digitized.