Question: What was the first vaccine required by law in North Carolina?
Answer: The first vaccine required by law in North Carolina was against diphtheria. A 1939 statute mandated vaccination against diphtheria for all schoolchildren. Earlier vaccination efforts against smallpox existed, but they weren’t compulsory statewide until later. A 1957 law required vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough before a child’s first birthday, and smallpox before school enrollment. North Carolina also became the first state to mandate polio vaccination in 1959 using the Salk vaccine.
