Support provided by:

Center for Biosecurity of UPMC

Oklahoma City Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Domestic Preparedness

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Case Study

1976, Swine Flu Vaccination Campaign Too Much, Too Soon

In 1976 a new, potentially serious flu virus emerged. To avoid the staggering numbers of casualties experienced during the 1918 pandemic (550,000 in the U.S.), health authorities swiftly launched a national immunization campaign. However, the pandemic never materialized, and the flu shots were subsequently blamed for a wave of Guillain-Barré syndrome cases. These factors overshadowed public health efforts and negatively affected people's attitudes about vaccine safety.

Reference

Kolata G. Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux; 1999.