Right in front of their eyes. The stories, it would turn out, were false and misleading. Lawsuits, side-effects and negative media coverage followed, and the events dented confidence in public health for years to come. What happened might even have laid the foundations for the mistaken anti-vax views and distrust in public health that would spread decades later.
As the world rushes to roll out a vaccine to billions of people today, what might we learn from the ill-fated events of ? In February , several soldiers at Fort Dix fell ill with a previously unrecognised swine flu. None had been in contact with pigs, so human transmission was assumed. Testing revealed that the virus had spread to more than recruits. The pandemics of and were still fresh in the memory, and fears soon escalated of another like influenza pandemic , which had killed tens of millions.
Further investigation found that people under 50 years old had no antibodies to this new strain. Urgent decisions were needed. Public health officials realised it might be possible to get a vaccine to the public by the end of the year if they acted fast. The pharmaceutical industry had just finished manufacturing vaccines for the normal flu seasons.
They also had an animal advantage: roosters. The swine flu strain spotted at Fort Dix was not dangerous, and there would be no pandemic. Later, researchers discovered that benign swine flu strains had been circulating in the US population long before this one was identified at the military base.
And scientists who feared another Spanish flu did not know that the influenza was avian , not swine. Researchers at the time also suffered from a form of recency bias : based on experience from the s and 60s, they assumed major influenza pandemics happened on an year cycle, when they are actually more irregular. Outbreak fears began at Fort Dix army base. A soldier there is given a standard vaccination a few years later Credit: Getty Images. So, as has happened throughout the Covid pandemic of , the scientists could only give the best advice they could based on incomplete knowledge.
Many public health officials were sceptical and uncertain too, including Imperato in New York. As former president of the Institute of Medicine Harvey Fineberg concluded in a lacerating review of the events in , plenty of senior scientists supported the vaccine with pre-existing agendas.
As the US summer arrived, no outbreak had emerged nationally or internationally, but efforts continued nonetheless. Four pharmaceutical companies had begun production, and testing was underway in clinical trials. But in June, there was a problem that would have far-reaching effects for years afterwards.
It began when the industry manufacturers announced that they had been refused liability insurance, effectively downing tools. They asked Congress to indemnify them, but were turned down.
The swine flu virus under the microscope Credit: Getty Images. For weeks, this hampered the plans of local public health officials like Imperato, but crucially, also dented public confidence.
In July, the Ford administration agreed to bear the cost of defending lawsuits and asked Congress to pass legislation. Nagpur, Maharashtra. Mumbai mumbai mumbai, Mumbai - , Dist. Kandivali West, Mumbai No. Hyderabad, Telangana. Ahmedabad A , Signature-2, Nr. Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Company Video. Goregaon West, Mumbai No. Singanpore, Surat Plot No. Surat, Gujarat.
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Distribution will also need to be carefully managed by the federal government. Wurtz said the priority groups will be people at greatest risk from COVID — healthcare workers, older adults, people with underlying medical conditions, and essential workers. The coronavirus has also had a disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic groups in the United States — including Black American, Native American, and LatinX communities.
COVID is relatively mild in the vast majority of cases, but there are things you can…. Discover symptoms, risk factors, tips to prevent contracting and transmitting it, and more. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Share on Pinterest Families wait for the H1N1 vaccine in Getty Images.
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