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 It was passed 27 February 1813 and repealed 4 May 1822.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 The Act made these provisions: The Act was repealed in 1822, and the authority to regulate vaccines given to the states.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
Edward Jenner these cases the severity of the illness was notably diminished by previous vaccination. In 1821, he was appointed physician extraordinary to King George IV, and was also made mayor of Berkeley and justice of the peace. He continued to investigate natural history, and in 1823, the last year of his life, he presented his "Observations on the Migration of Birds" to the Royal Society. Jenner was found in a state of apoplexy on 25 January 1823, with his right side paralysed. He never fully recovered and eventually died of an apparent stroke, his second, on 26 January 1823, aged 73.