In 1976, more than 40 million Americans were vaccinated to prevent the swine flu, and 150,000,000 doses of vaccine were produced at a cost to the American taxpayer of approximately $135 million.
By early fall 1976, there had been no reports of outbreaks of the "killer virus," and a rethinking process should have been initiated. Unfortunately by this time, the program had been pushed so far by the Ford Administration, high public health officials, and prominent virologists that there was no turning back. More than 40 million people were inoculated, resulting only in sore arms and a few neurological complications.
The people in charge of the swine flu decision were criticized for not including scientists outside the fields of epidemiology, preventive medicine, or virology. The planners were too wrapped up in the ideal of preventive medicine and saving the nation. Their decision to inoculate was based on too little objective