The Chinese were the first to use smallpox vaccines in 1000 AD and were followed in Africa and Turkey with similar techniques. The first vaccine in the United States was created in 1721 by Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister. He resorted to the smallpox vaccine in response to an epidemic. Edward Jenner, an English physician and scientist, created the first smallpox vaccine using cowpox in 1796 and this vaccine was used for years to be updated and eventually smallpox was eliminated. Benjamin Waterhouse, physician, co-founder and president of Harvard Medical School, used the “Cowpox” vaccine in 1801. Massachusetts was the first state to encourage the use of vaccination. Milton, Massachusetts, became the first town to offer free smallpox vaccinations in 1809 and followed state law requiring the smallpox vaccine (ProCon.org, 2015). President James Madison signed legislation to encourage vaccination, which created the National Vaccine Agency in February. 27, 1813. In 1963, 20 states required vaccination for attendance in public schools and by 1970, 29 states required it. Starting with Massachusetts in 1855, New York in 1862, Connecticut in 1872, Indiana in 1881, Arkansas, Illinois, Virginia and Wisconsin in 1882, California in 1888, Iowa in 1889 and Pennsylvania in 1895 (ProCon.org, 2015). The first laboratory vaccine was developed by Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and microbiologist, and was administered against avian cholera (usually infects chickens) in 1879. He also created the rabies vaccine in 1885, which launched the development of a vaccine against human diseases, starting with typhoid in 1899., cholera in 1911, diphtheria in 1914, tuberculosis in 1921, and tetanus vaccines in 1924. Polio was in 1955, measles in 1963, mumps...... middle of paper ......thout. Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative used to prevent contamination of multidose vaccine vials. Currently, the only vaccine containing thimerosal is the influenza vaccine (CDC, 2015). Nursing plays a role in immunization, particularly in education. It is part of the nurse's job to educate the patient and their families about vaccination as well as the disease and prevention. When it comes to autism and vaccines, nurses try to remind parents and patients that there is no link between vaccines and autism. This is always encouraged in all healthcare, workers should be vaccinated and educated about vaccines. Patient-nurse relationships facilitate the administration of vaccines, particularly among the elderly. Experts say nurses are poised to become health care's best tool for fighting disease with vaccines (Zimlich,2014).