1. 1901 smallpox vaccine contaminated with tetanus
In 1901, nine children died from smallpox vaccines administered at their schools. The incident happened in Camden, New Jersey. Apparently, the dangerous vaccines were tainted with tetanus. At the time, nobody considered it a conflict of interest for the school district to reach out to a company employee so they could pinpoint the problem.
Experts at the time claimed that tetanus was simply “in the air,” waiting for “any scratch or cut to give it a lodging place.” In reality, tetanus is caused by a bacterium commonly found in dust, soil, and manure.
Sadly, newspapers soon adopted the arguments, saying something along the lines of that the real issue was the lower class of people who, because of their own carelessness, poisoned the wounds with tetanus.
The only good thing that happened with these dangerous vaccines was the fact that it became obvious that more stringent regulation of medicine manufacturing was necessary. This concluded with the 1902 Biologics Control Act, a law that would lead to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration.
