In early 1976, two cases of H1N1 “swine flu” were confirmed in the U.S. and public health officials working with the pharmaceutical industry made the decision to start manufacturing a vaccine out of concerns that this new strain of type A influenza could start a pandemic similar to the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. The U.S. Congress approved $137 million dollars for vaccine production with the goal that nearly all Americans would be vaccinated before the flu season started.
Mass production of the swine flu vaccine did not start until the U.S. Congress gave in to demands from drug companies lobbying for a product liability shield to block vaccine injury lawsuits for any harm caused by swine flu shots. This decision called into question the safety of the swine flu vaccine and public support for the mass vaccination program began to wane.
The swine flu vaccination program began in October 1976 and, within two weeks public concerns about safety were highlighted when three senior citizens died after getting vaccinated at the same clinic. By December 1976, there had been numerous reports of people becoming paralyzed from Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) which developed after getting swine flu shots and, with no evidence of an impending influenza pandemic, the swine flu vaccination program was cancelled.
