The Chinese were the first to begin using vaccines in 1000 AD against smallpox and were followed in Africa and Turkey with similar techniques. The first vaccine in the United States was in 1721 by Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister. He used a smallpox vaccination in response to an epidemic. Edward Jenner, an English doctor 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 then the first state to encourage the use of the vaccination. Milton, Massachusetts, became the first town to offer free smallpox vaccinations in 1809 and followed the state law requiring smallpox vaccine (ProCon.org, 2015). President James Madison signed an act to encourage vaccination, which created the National Vaccine Agency on February 27, 1813. By 1963, 20 states required vaccinations to attend public schools and by 1970, 29 states required them . 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 (commonly infects chickens) in 1879. He also created the rabies vaccine in 1885 which began the development of the vaccine for human diseases starting with typhus in 1899, cholera in 1911, diphtheria in 1914, tuberculosis in 1921 and vaccines against tetanus in 1924. Poliomyelitis in 1955, measles in 1963, mumps...... in the center of the paper.. ....you. 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 an important role when it comes to vaccination, especially in the field of education. It is part of the nurse's job to educate patients and families about vaccination, the disease and prevention. When it comes to autism and vaccines, nurses try to remind parents and patients that no relationship has been found linking vaccines and autism. It is still encouraged throughout healthcare that workers should be vaccinated and educated about vaccines. The patient-nurse relationship facilitates the administration of vaccines, especially to the elderly. Experts say nurses are close to becoming the best healthcare tool in fighting disease with vaccines (Zimlich,2014).