Swine Flu PSAs From 1976 (VIDEO)

"A swine flu epidemic could be coming..." says an ominous voice as deep drums rumble in the background. "It could make you very sick. You'll want to be protected."

One man on a basketball court shrugs it off. "The swine flu? Man, I'm too fast to let it catch me!" Moments later, he's shown sprawled in his bed with a thermometer in his mouth.

The scenes (as you can quickly tell from the video below) are from the 1970s, when the last swine flu scare led to a national vaccination campaign. Here's a brief synopsis from the Centers for Disease Control:

In 1976, 2 recruits at Fort Dix, New Jersey, had an influenzalike illness. Isolates of virus taken from them included A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1n1), a strain similar to the virus believed at the time to be the cause of the 1918 pandemic, commonly known as swine flu. Serologic studies at Fort Dix suggested that >200 soldiers had been infected and that person-to-person transmission had occurred. We review the process by which these events led to the public health decision to mass-vaccinate the American public against the virus and the subsequent events that led to the program's cancellation.

Watch the PSAs:

Comments

[sposton]

How did they get the vaccine so quickly? Nobody seems to be talking about making vaccine for this swine flue. Has our capacity to make vaccine deteriorated or do we now rely more on the anti-viral drugs?

[mydwyf]

I've been reading up on this. The funds for the vaccine were approved on april 15th 1976.
The vaccine was manufactured, tested and evaluated over the summer. Inoculations began
in October and were halted in mid-December because of Gullain - Barre' syndrome. The pandemic never materialized. That time.

The manufacturers knew the vaccine might have side effects and refused to produce it unless fully indemnified by the government. The head of the CDC had to step down for taking the vaccine path.

BUT they were assuming that the pandemic could have been on the order of 1918. In which case, some vaccine side effects would have been tolerable. Was it the right action taken at the wrong time?

[franklin747]

PHARMACTICAL COMPs stock dip

Pharmaceutical need to make money - let's scare everyone into an epidemic!

You a fool to believe this. More money for the Pharmactical Comps who send money to our goven't officials for campaigns and to fly in fancy jets!

[vinny]

poor betty.

[MrHacks]

BOOGEY BOOGEY!
"You are going to die...even­tually. Brought you you by the CDC and the Ad Coucil. (c) 1976"

[d00derman]

New Wave/Punk music was administered in 1976 to stop the swine flu. Now that music is no longer interesting and lame it's time to bring that music back to help civilization!

[Khirad]

dooderman, I couldn't agree more! Kudos to whoever dug this story up and for the comments below. This was before I was born so I didn't know - of course, that never stopped me with music!

[privateman]

HuffPost Editors:

Have you considered that readers just passing by
may be seriously misled by this article's illustration?

The CDC advises NOT TO GET ANY FLU SHOTS NOW.

[davidmnc76]

Over 1000 people died from this vaccine in 1976.

[Daniel Schmid]

1 person died from the Flu back then, and 25 people died from the "cure."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB5-Y08qbjo

[evilzed]

The item forgot to mention that the vaccination progran, that was to vaccinate most Americans was STOPPED due to deaths and furthur disease. The Vaccination Program killed more than it saved.

President Gerald Ford immediately ordered a nationwide vaccination program.
More than 40 million people were vaccinated. However, the program was stopped short after over 500 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a severe paralyzing nerve disease, were reported. 30 people died as a direct result of the vaccinations.

Going to risk getting a vaccination?
Consider this extremely important peice of info.
WHO has contracted Baxter to come up with the vaccine, BUT Baxter, only a few months ago nearly started the REAL BIRD FLU PANDEMIC by "accidently" mixing live h5n1 virus into their current flu vaccines, and sent them off to 18 countries. This is utmost damning and proves Baxter and WHO are involved in weaponised vaccines. http://www.lifegen.de/newsip/shownews.php4?getnews=2009-02-26-5323&pc=s01

[LeeCalif]

This post by Aquiver needs to be repeated ........

Well, if there needs to be a national vaccine this time, Texas shouldn't get it. That would be too socialist.

[Harmony1812]

I heard that this is a different strain of the flu. But in any case I'm sure Big Pharma will make a killing.

[evilzed]

Guess whos got shares in the Tamiflu and vaccine companies?
Donald Rumsfield, Al Gore and Obama.
This is like a movie, You cant make this stuff up.

[tekjensen]

Did you get that from the 2007 blog at obambi.com? That's the only place I found any proof of your accusation.

[Orlando]

Follow the money and see who is profiting from the flu scares.
Line up for your mecury laced injections everyone..­.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=1148

http://www.infowars.com/articles/science/vaccines_ingredients_mercury_aspartame_etc.htm

[gageeandbaba]

the scary 70s. reminds me of Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

[Darthwave]

I love watching those PSAs from the 70s... They are so camp.

[VoteOnPaper]

Here, too.

I'm old enough to remember a dear family friend who got the swine flu shot. Mrs. S. suffered terribly from that injection and she was never the same.