#28 – National Swine Flu Immunization Program

March 25, 1976

President Gerald R. Ford calls on Congress requesting a special appropriation for the National Swine Flu Immunization Program. He signs the measure into law on August 12, 1976. President Ford acts on fears that this could be another flu epidemic, like the 1918 Flu Pandemic that resulted in approximately 20 million deaths around the world. America’s public health establishment identifies what easily could be a national crisis and mobilizes to prepare.