In 1976, an outbreak of the swine flu, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 at Fort Dix, New Jersey caused one death, hospitalized 13, and led to a mass immunization program.

After the program began, the vaccine was associated with an increase in reports of Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), which can cause paralysis, respiratory arrest, and death.

[1] Richard Krause, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1975 to 1984, writes that the government response to the swine flu outbreak was considered to be too fast.

The atypical samples were sent to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, which found evidence of swine influenza A related to the 1918 flu pandemic, which killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide.

On February 13, CDC Director David Sencer completed a memo calling for mass immunization for the swine flu.

A hearing was held before the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and C. Joseph Stetler, a drug company spokesman, requested government indemnity for the vaccine manufacturers.

Two days later, the World Health Organization held a conference to discuss the implications of a swine flu outbreak for poorer nations.

The chairman of Merck wrote a memo a day later, April 13, to various government agencies, including the White House emphasizing the "duty to warn".

In May, other vaccine manufacturers including Marion Merrell Dow, Parke-Davis, and Wyeth, were notified of indemnity problems by their respective insurers.

Later that month, J. Anthony Morris, a researcher in the Food and Drug Administration's Bureau of Biologics (BoB), was dismissed for insubordination and went public with findings that cast doubt on the safety of the vaccine,[4] which was produced in fertilized hen’s eggs.

[4] By 15 December, cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) affecting vaccinated patients were reported in 10 states, including Minnesota, Maryland, and Alabama.

[4] A summarizing study concludes "that vaccination overall is of public health benefit, helping to reduce mortality and prevent the thousands of deaths that occur from annual seasonal outbreaks, despite the possibility of an increased risk of GBS".

",[17] wrote that "the swine flu affair fails to tell us whether, in the face of scientific uncertainty, it is better to err on the side of caution or aggressive intervention."