Vaccine Act of 1813

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 It was passed 27 February 1813 and repealed 4 May 1822.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.US FDA, FDA's Origin, accessed 25-Jan-2010

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: a federal agent charged with preserving genuine vaccine authority for the agent to distribute vaccine to any US citizen distribution of legitimate vaccine postage-free (franking privilege)

The Act was repealed in 1822, and the authority to regulate vaccines given to the states.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 in North Carolina, which was traced to samples of smallpox, instead of vaccine, accidentally provided by Dr. James Smith while in the capacity of the federal agent charged with preserving and distributing genuine vaccine.

Text The Act is brief (as compared to modern legislation) and is therefore reproduced in its entirety here:

See also 1721 Boston smallpox outbreak 1738–1739 North Carolina smallpox epidemic 1770s Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic 1775–1782 North American smallpox epidemic 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic History of Variola InoculationBenjamin Waterhouse Norfolk Anti-Inoculation Riot of 1768David Ramsay Ottoman Smallpox InoculationGiacomo Pylarini Smallpox VaccineIndian Vaccination Act of 1832 Valentine SeamanJohn Redman Coxe Variolation

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