Mass Vaccinations Nothing New

Mass vaccination efforts might seem like something new, but that’s not the case.

Here is a front page from the Nov. 16, 1976 edition of The Fayette County Record.

The headline reads “1,095 Receive Swine Flu Shots in Fayette County” and includes this picture of a woman looking less than excited to be shot in the arm.

The story says five clinics staged across the county dispensed vaccinations during one week.

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. The story stats that there were “No adverse effects from the Inoculations.”

But nationwide there were.

After the program began, the vaccine was associated with an increase in reports of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which can cause paralysis, respiratory arrest, and in rare cases death. The immunization program was ended after approximately 25% of the population of the United States had been administered the vaccine.

The swine flu never grew into a pandemic

On Nov. 2, 2021 the Fayette County Record will begin its 100th year of continuous publication. As we countdown the final months toward that amazing milestone, we’ll be running columns looking back at interesting aspects of our history.