History

First Generation of Vaccines (pre-1950s)
1798 Smallpox
1885 Rabies
1897 Plague
1917 Cholera
1917 Typhoid vaccine (parenteral)
1923 Diphtheria
1926 Pertussis
1927 Tuberculosis (BCG)
1927 Tetanus
1935 Yellow Fever
1940s DTP
1945 The first influenza vaccines (flu) began being used.

1950s-1960s
1955 Inactivated polio vaccine licensed (IPV).
1955 Tetanus and diphtheria toxoids adsorbed (adult use, Td)
1959 World Health Assembly passes initial resolution calling for global smallpox eradication.
1961 Monovalent oral polio vaccine licensed.
1963 Trivalent oral polio vaccine licensed (OPV).
1963 The first measles vaccine licensed.
1964 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), designed to provide CDC with recommendations on vaccine use, holds its first meeting.
1964-1965 20,000 cases of Congenital Rubella Syndrome occurred during the largest rubella epidemic in the United States.
1966 U.S. Measles eradication goal enunciated.
1967 Mumps vaccine licensed.
1969 Rubella vaccine licensed - 57,600 rubella cases reported this year.

1970s
1970 Anthrax vaccine manufactured by the Michigan Department of Public Health.
1971 Routine smallpox vaccination ceases in the United States.
1971 Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine licensed (MMR).
1976 Swine Flu: largest public vaccination program in the United States to date; halted by association with Guillain-Barré syndrome.
1977 Last indigenous case of smallpox (Somalia).
1978 Fluzone, the current flu vaccine that is made by Aventis pasteur, was licensed.
1979 Last case of polio, caused by wild virus, acquired in the United States.

1980s
1980 Smallpox declared eradicated from the world.
1981 Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine, groups A, C, Y, W135 combined (Menomune)
1982 Hepatitis B vaccine becomes available.
1983 Pneumococcal vaccine, 23 valent
1986 The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act establishes a no-fault compensation system for those injured by vaccines and requires adverse health events following specific vaccinations be reported and those injured by vaccines be compensated.
1988 Worldwide Polio Eradication Initiative launched; supported by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International, CDC and others.
1989-1991 Major resurgence of measles in the United States - 55,000 cases compared with a low of 1,497 cases in 1983. Two-dose measles vaccine (MMR) is recommended.

1990s

1990 The Vaccine Adverse Reporting System (VAERS), a national program monitoring the safety of vaccines established.
1990 Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) polysaccharide conjugate vaccine licensed for infants.
1990 Typhoid vaccine (oral)
1991 Hepatitis B vaccine recommended for all infants.
1991 Acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) licensed for use in older children aged 15 months to six years old.
1993 Japanese encephalitis vaccine
1994 Polio elimination certified in the Americas.
1994 Vaccines for Children (VFC) program established to provide access to free vaccines for eligible children at the site of their usual source of care.
1995 First harmonized childhood immunization schedule endorsed by ACIP, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics is published.
1995 Varicella vaccine licensed; before the vaccine an estimated 4 million infected annually in the United States.
1995 Hepatitis A vaccine licensed.
1996 Acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) licensed for use in young infants.
1998 First rotavirus vaccine licensed.
1999 Rotavirus vaccine withdrawn from the market as a result of adverse events.
1999 Lyme disease vaccine approved by the FDA.
1999 FDA recommends removing mercury from all products, including vaccines. Efforts are begun to remove thimerosal, a mercury based additive, from vaccines.

2000s

2000 Worldwide measles initiative launched; 800,000 children still die from measles annually. Measles declared no longer endemic in the United States.
2000 Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar) recommended for all young children.
2001 September 11 results in increased concern of bioterrorism. The United States establishes a plan to re-introduce smallpox vaccine if necessary, a vaccine thought never to be needed again.
2002 Lyme disease vaccine withdrawn from the market by the manufacturer because of lawsuits and lack of demand for the vaccine.
2003 Measles declared no longer endemic in the Americas.
2003 First live attenuated influenza vaccine licensed (FluMist) for use in 5 to 49 year old persons.
2003 First Adult Immunization Schedule introduced.
2004 Inactivated influenza vaccine recommended for all children 6 to 23 months of age.
2004 Pediarix,a vaccine that combines the DTaP, IPV, and Hep B vaccines, into one shot, is approved.
2005 Rubella declared no longer endemic in the United States.
2005 Boostrix and Adacel, Tdap vaccines, are approved for teens.
2005 Menactra, a new meningococcal vaccine is approved for people between the ages of 11 to 55 years of age.
2006 RotaTeq is a new rotavirus vaccine from Merck.
2006 ProQuad is a new vaccine that combines the MMR and Varivax vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox into a single shot.
2006 Gardasil, the first HPV vaccine is approved.
2007 A booster dose of Varivax, the chickenpox vaccine, is now recommended for all children.
2007 The recommended age for Flumist, the nasal spray flu vaccine, was lowered to two years.
2008 Outbreaks of measles increasing across the U.S. as vaccination rates drop among some communities over vaccine safety fears.
2008 Rotarix, a two dose rotavirus vaccine is approved.
2008 Pentacel, a combination of DTaP, IPV and Hib is approved.
2008 Kinrix, a combination of DTaP and IPV that can be used for children between the ages of 4 and 6 as approved.