On April 8, an official from the Federal Insurance Company informed Merck & Co., a manufacturer of the swine flu vaccine, that it will exclude indemnity on Merck's product liability for the swine flu vaccine starting July 1, 1976. T. Lawrence Jones, president of the American Insurance Association, informed the Office of Management and Budget that the insurance industry will not cover liability for the vaccine unless the government extends liability protection. The chairman of Merck wrote a memo a day later, April 13, to various government agencies including the White House emphasizing the "duty to warn". In May, other vaccine manufacturers including Marion Merrell Dow, Parke-Davis, Wyeth were notified of indemnity problems by their respective insurers. Assistant Secretary Theodore Cooper (HEW) informed the White House on June 2 that indemnity legislation will be needed to secure Merrell's cooperation. During June other vaccine manufacturers requested the same legislation. A little more than two weeks later, the Ford Administration submitted a proposal to Congress offering indemnity to vaccine manufacturers.

Bruce Dull stated at a flu conference on July 1 that there were no parallels between the 1918 flu pandemic and the current situation. Later that month, J. Anthony Morris, a researcher in the Food and Drug Administration's Bureau of Biologics (BoB), was dismissed for insubordination and went public with findings that cast doubt on the safety of the vaccine. Three days later, several manufacturers announced they had ceased production of the vaccine. In the latter part of the month, investigations into alleged swine flu outbreaks in other parts of the world found no cases of the strain. On July 23, the President sent a letter urging Congress to take action on indemnification.

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Merrill became the first company to submit samples to the FDA's Bureau of Biologics for safety testing, which approved it on September 2. Merck made the first shipment of vaccines to state health departments by September 22. The first swine flu inoculations were given at the Indiana State Fair.

In October, three people died of heart attacks after receiving the vaccine at the same Pittsburgh clinic, sparking an investigation and recall of that batch of vaccine. Investigation showed that the deaths were not related to the immunization. The President and his family received their immunizations before the television cameras.[10] On November 2, Gerald Ford lost the presidential election to Jimmy Carter.