Vaccine Act of 1813 Vaccine Act of 1813 The Vaccine Act of 1813 was an Act of the Twelfth Congress of the United States to encourage vaccination against smallpox. It was passed 27 February 1813 and repealed 4 May 1822. The Act was the first federal law concerning consumer protection and pharmaceuticals. Dr. Edward Jenner discovered smallpox vaccine in 1796, and hucksters quickly exploited the demand for vaccine by offering fraudulent versions. The Act made these provisions: The Act was repealed in 1822, and the authority to regulate vaccines given to the states. This repeal was the result of an 1821 outbreak of smallpox
Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet Sir William Jenner, 1st Baronet, GCB, QHP, FRCP, FRS (30 January 1815 – 11 December 1898) was a significant English physician primarily known for having discovered the distinction between typhus and typhoid. Jenner was born at Chatham on 30 January 1815, and educated at University College London. He became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (M.R.C.S.) in 1837, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (F.R.C.P.) in 1852, and in 1844 took the London M.D. In 1847 he began at the London Fever Hospital investigations into cases of continued fever